Off The Radar
by essenceofginger
Summary: Tessa Thornhill is trying to make it through school without becoming a complete wreck during her fifth year at Hogwarts. She's reaching a coming of age crisis and desire towards one of her best friends that causes her to question herself and the relations of the people she pranks with, but it won't stop her from making great experiences with her classmates. *editing and re-writing*
1. The Train

"Hurry up we'll miss breakfast, Tess! It only lasts for another hour", bellowed Ron as he was running down the narrow hallway of The Leaky Cauldron. He lunged towards Hermione's cat lounging on a nearby table that screeched at the sudden movement and scrambled off the table bounding down the stairs.

"What's your problem with cats!" yelled Tessa as she watched Ron run down the stairs shortly after.

Harry trudged out of his room shaking his head at the stomping steps hitting each stair until it slowly faded to padding on stone floor.

"Bugger," mumbled Harry rubbing his temples.

"Oh morning Harry! You're looking well," said Tessa as she walked past with a beaming smile.

"Mhm," yawned Harry as he let Tessa pass and followed her down the hall.

Their light steps reached the bottom of the stairs that opened to the main floor of the dilapidated inn.

"This is the last time I tell you to stop messing with Crookshanks," stated Hermione glaring at Ron whom waved her off and sat down next to Ginny.

Harry groaned lightly as he stretched his arms over his head and walked past the fireplace to the four open seats left at the large communal table centered in the room. Ron already started digging into his plate he prepared for himself while grabbing the Daily Prophet off the table.

"I told you Egypt was am-zing we even in th- pa-er again. 'ave a look 'arry," mumbled Ron once Harry reached the table.

"Honestly Ron, you could've waited until you were finished eating," said Hermione leaning away from the dribbling boy.

"Stop bragging about the clipping Ron," said Fred weaving through the tables. As he walked passed, he yanked the paper from his brother's grasp and sat next to Hermione "You've already told everyone about it yesterday—"

"Or have you already forgotten," finished a second voice. Tessa turned slightly to see George taking the seat on her right. She glanced around the room taking in the surroundings before they set off to King's Crossing.

Fred took advantage of this and leaned over the table stealing the biscuit from Tessa's plate and quickly sat down across from the two.

"You better have a replacement biscuit in handy Mr. Weasley." said Tessa without turning her head back at the table.

"That's a serious accusation Miss Thornhill," said Fred dramatically.

George slowly grabbed the basket from a waitress' hand that walked passed, filled with fresh biscuits from the kitchen, and placed it in front of Tessa who yet turned around.

Tessa snapped her head back towards the table leering at Fred. She then looked down and saw the basket. She uttered a small grunt as she glared at the biscuits' grabbing the biggest one with her right hand and reached for jam with the other.

She globed a mass amount of jam onto one half of the biscuit, and stared blankly at Fred who yanked the paper out of Ron's clutches and began flipping through the pages.

"I wonder if he remembers," thought Tessa as she glanced at his neck and wavy hair brushing his shoulders. "I remember."

She didn't realize she had zoned out until a, slowly, focused Fred was crossed-eyed making faces at her.

"There she is," said George leaning back into his chair once she started turning her face towards his.

"Thought we lost you Tess," said Fred smiling.

"Took you long enough", muttered Ron glaring at his nearly empty plate.

"You don't have to take your aggression out on me," said Tessa turning to Ron. "When your brothers are the ones stealing all the attention away from you."

Tessa glanced Hermione and Ginny whom looked relieved at the interruption the twins made. Red faced, Ron looked back down at yesterday's Daily Prophet re-reading the article about their vacation.

"We almost started throwing food at you until Tom decided to walk up and snatch it away," said Fred.

"You still have food in your hand Tess," laughed George who was pointing at the jam filled biscuit dripping on the table and part of Tessa's arm.

"Do you need help feeding yourself?" said Fred.

"We'll definitely help you. If, you ask kindly", said George winking at Tessa.

"I can take care of myself!" Tessa said quickly. "You'd probably pu something into my food."

The twins glanced at each other and began laughing hysterically, so much so that the bartender across the room nearly over filling a kettle trying to see what was going on at their table.

"You should know us better than that", said George once he stopped laughing.

"Yeah, we wouldn't mess with you like that," said Fred.

"It would be much worse," finished George. Fred and George smiled at each other menacingly.

"I thought I told you two to stop pranking the girls," said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"Oh Mum, you know that will never stop happening. They'll start back up once you—".

"Oh goodness, the time!" said Mrs. Weasley interrupting Ron. "Up the stairs everyone; go get your things!"

The group groaned as they got up from the table. Tessa grudgingly stood up with the help of George and went upstairs.

They were out the door before Mrs. Weasley could finish checking out of the inn. Once they reached their destination, tons of muggles were in front of the gate for Hogwarts.

"Christ, of all the days to be busy," mumbled Tessa to Hermione.

"There must be an event going on it wouldn't normally be this crowded", replied Hermione.

"What events would you have in the area?" Asked Mr. Weasley quickly.

"Well…I guess it's probably a convention", said Tessa. "Conventions are places where people with similar interests, whether for business or media come together and just talk about muggle things", finished Tessa.

Hermione gave her an approving look as if to say she did well explaining the basics, but it could take an entire dinner discussing conventions and the many interests of muggles in such social events. Before Mr. Weasley could ask more questions Mrs. Weasley pushed through the group to the front.

"Alright you lot there's an opening to the right side of the pillar. Single-file everyone! Tessa could you help Ginny cross through," said Mrs. Weasley as she waved the two girls to the front. Tessa had never been more grateful to go to the front of the line. Tessa lurched her cart forward making a path for her and Ginny running through the wall to Platform 9 ¾ without any problems.

On the other side she finally felt comfortable. She went to the pillar across the entrance while Ginny walked towards some of her friends who had already said Goodbye to their parents.

"Tess, good morning".

She turned around to see Luna Lovegood waving at her.

"Hey Luna!" said Tessa.

"So glad to see you," said Luna dreamily. "I won't keep you for too long, but I hope you do well in Quidditch tryouts this year."

She walked away without a second glance and got on the train. Tessa shook her head and smiled.

"Arthur we don't have time to ask every muggle how they make a quill portable every time you see one in their pocket. We have places to be, and so do they. Oh Harry could you gather the group to say goodbye", said Mrs. Weasley as she tried to rush towards Ginny before she pushed further into the crowd.

"Oh boys; be careful in school this year. I don't want to be sent a letter that you've locked a first year in one of the haunted bathrooms with the lights off again," said Mrs. Weasley sternly as she walked back to the group with Ginny in tow.

"Don't worry Mrs. Weasley, I'll make sure that they'll be nice this year," said Hermione.

"Thank you dear. I hope they won't be a handful." Tessa smirked at the thought of Hermione trying to keep order between Fred and George's antics.

"I'll keep her at bay", Tessa thought.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley for everything I really appreciate you taking me here with my parents being busy and what not," said Tessa as she said her Goodbyes last.

"Of course," said Mrs. Weasley. "You are family so there's no trouble in the matter." Arthur wrapped his arm around Mrs. Weasley's shoulder and smiled.

"Alright it's time to go, you know the good seats need to be taken by us", said an impatient Ron already picking a window to claim for the long journey.

"Bye guys! And be safe!" said Mr. Weasley as the group got onto the train.

Tessa led the group through the Gryffindor cart, and they split from the group once they chose a spacious compartment.

Lee, Fred, George, and Tessa all fit comfortably in the cart with wide windows only showing a curly haired Hermione and Crookshanks, stuffed in her arms, trying to find a compartment with Harry and Ron. She turned to look at Fred watching Hermione. From the angle he was sitting he could see everything she was doing. \

She glared at the profile of his face, which thankfully was hidden from George and Lee who were already rummaging through everyone's bags and pulling out a chess board and card games for the journey.

"Excuse me guys. I'm going to go to the lavatory before the train gets going," said Tessa. She stood reaching over the rack behind her causing her shirt to ride up past her navel.

They all looked at her up and down, while she rummaged in her bag, and waiting for her to turn around before responding with numerous whatever's before she shut the door.

"That was weird", she thought, but she let it go and walked passed the compartments and opening the door to the next cart.


	2. The Creature Roaming The Hall

Tessa wasn't feeling her best on the train. She blushed and looked down after a drooling Slytherin nearly tripped walking past her going the opposite direction. She wasn't used to this staring.

"Maybe these guys had a change of preference over the Summer", she thought to herself and smiled at her theory that she relatively doubted. "Maybe I spilled some jam on my shirt and the "weasel" twins didn't tell me…but Luna would've told me." She was too deep in thought to realize she ran smack into Marcus Flint's back.

"Oi! Watch where going you tos—", said Flint whom abruptly stopped talking after turning around and realizing that the person behind him was the same height if not a little shorter. "Well you've grown into yourself haven't you, Thornhill", he smirked at the flustered girl. "Wouldn't mind meeting in-between practices this year."

He looked down at Tessa's disproportionate legs and torso, or at least she thought they were. Her hips were almost the same length as Fred's she observed, once, when she was staring at him while throwing gnomes out of one of his parents' gardens during a heatwave.

"I might, if, you play nice this year," said Tessa flirtatiously. She smiled at the surprised look on the boy's face by her response. "But, we both know it won't happen if you want to win a game." said Tessa.

"Yeah you'd like that wouldn't you; you fucking sla—", Tessa shut the door of the cart and moved to the next one before she could hear anything else. She honestly wouldn't have minded hanging out with him if he was a decent person. But, she remembered, the last time she faced him ended with her being sent to the hospital wing when he kicked her off her broom after scoring a game changing goal.

The train cart lurched forward and which caused her to nearly fall into a room with a view of buildings speeding by.

"Hey Tess, you know it isn't really safe to be alone." She whipped around to see Fred shutting the cart door.

"I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"Yeah", replied Fred. "But now, I need to protect you here and on the field, so you need to stop messing with Slytherins." She was taken a-back by how serious he looked. She wondered how he knew about Flint talking to her so quickly.

"He only hurt me once and that will never happen again. Lighten up Weasley." She tried to set the mood a little lighter, since she really needed to go to the bathroom and having a serious conversation was not the best time. "It's not my fault they like me so much."

Fred smiled at Tessa, shoved her into a bathroom.

"I'm telling you, Montague. Thornhill was totally into it," said an astonished Marcus.

"Well, after you sending her to the Hospital Wing last year, she might want to see how rough you can get off the pitch. Most girls are into that sort of thing now days," replied Graham Montague deviously. "I might go back to the lavatory then." They both laughed while pushing students out of their way through the car.

Once they reached the Hufflepuff car, Flint was walking towards the lavatory looking at Tessa, then Fred, and looked down as he passed. Tessa let go of the breath she held once she saw him and turned to Fred.

"I'm so glad you're my bodyguard Mr. Weasley," said Tessa smiling at Fred.

"Anytime Miss Thornhill, but only an hour a day. I am a very busy man," said Fred jokingly. He opened the car door for her and they made it back to their compartment to see Lee's Queen defeated by George.

"Damn it George", said Lee and passed a unicorn pop and dragon's breath gummies to George across the make-shift table that was made in-between them on their side of the compartment the two boys shared.

"Nice of you to join us again", said George.

"Alright; Alright, enough chit chat; get into your compartments we are almost out of London," said a shrewd Head boy who shut the door behind Fred and walked to the next compartment. They all looked at each other and laughed at their outrageous behavior needing to be disciplined as Lee opened a deck of cards to help them get through the rest of the trip.

They played snap bang enough times to call it quits and move on to other games, like muggle poker. George was just about to win, until, the train got dark enough to no longer see the game in front of them.

"Looks like the storm's getting worse," said Lee. Tessa stood up to turn on an overhead light when, suddenly, the train lurched to a stop causing Tess to land onto George's lap as all the lights went out.

Silence.

The first time George has ever encountered true silence was in the moment. He held Tessa closer to him in hopes it will make him feel better but sadness was quickly taking over. They were closest to the door and saw a black shadow quickly open their door.

"Scooch!"

Startled by the boy Lee scooted over until the guy removed his hood. Platinum blonde illuminated the compartment, and showed a very terrified Draco Malfoy. "Well if it isn't Malfoy gracing us with his prescence," said Fred sarcastically.

Ice filled the air and caused condensation to form on the windows from their breath. Draco was too shaken to make a comeback, but, instead, glared at Fred until another shadow slowly walked towards their compartment. It was so quiet they heard one door unlock and slide open after another, until the creature reached their section of compartments. The lock popped open on their cart, and a small white light emulated from Harry's side of the train. The Dementor turned towards the light locking their compartment door as it walked past.

After a few seconds, a bright light illuminated the hall way of the car knocking the Dementor into the hallway and flyimh away hastily with the light following it. Tessa turned to George seeing his face looking just as terrified as hers and pushed further into his lap burrowing her face into his robes.

Malfoy bolted out of the room once the car door shut and ran in the opposite direction. The train started moving again, and the lights flickered on as the train began to pick up speed.

"Well—,"said Fred, "—who wants to finish this game." They all smiled at the tension being relieved and played until they reached Hogwarts' station.

"Finally!" yelled Tessa who was relieved of the small spaces. She began spinning around Hogwarts' station nearly running into a small first year. George grabbed Tessa's arm and lead her to Fred and Lee whom left them behind trying to get a carriage, which could fit all of them, before most of the spaces were taken.

"Over Here!" she heard Angelina yell to her with a smile. There were two spaces left and Tessa took their offer without hesitation.

"Oh I see how it is Tessa!" bellowed George while she walked away from him towards her friends.

"You'll live without me, George." Tessa replied, "It's only a carriage ride."

George smiled and waved while heading towards Lee and a confused Fred.

"Hey girls", said Tessa hugging Katie, Alicia, and Angelina. "How was your Summer?" said Tessa.

Angelina smiled. "It was nice. I met the coach of the Harpies," replied Angelina He asked me to come to one of their practices during holiday!" They all bounced up and down with excitement and loudly began to congratulate her which caused many students to glare back at them.

"That's brilliant!" Tessa replied with excitement. "I will buy season tickets when you become their chaser".

Katie nodded in agreement and added, "Speaking of Quidditch, are you trying out this year Tess?"

"Of course!" Tessa replied, "Hopefully I'll be a reserve again, and, that's okay." The three girls smiled at her answer. For the rest of the ride, gossiped about boys, Quidditch players, and the upcoming World Cup next year.


	3. Quidditch Try-outs

"SLYTHERIN!" bellowed the Sorting Hat.

The Slytherin table erupted into cheers at the last person being sorted to their house. "Finally some food," said Ron exhaustively.

The table was filled with various edibles after a small pop erupted around the room. Joyful chatter and silverware scrapping against porcelain enveloped the air.

"Would you stop eating so fast", said Hermione to a "half-starved" Ron inhaling a turkey leg in one hand and a sweet roll in the other waiting to be devoured.

"Oh lighten up Hermione, he's a starving boy, you know, since Molly never lets him eat at home," said Tessa sarcastically.

Hermione kicked her in the shin. "Aw! what'd—", she glared at Hermione whom was cutting her eyes towards the Slytherin table with a slight nod. Tessa turned around to see Blaise and Marcus chatting away with their friends, but the boys were the only ones out of the entire table to look shiny from the light hitting their faces. She immediately elbowed Fred in the ribs and made him choke on the roll he tried to swallow.

"The hell, Tess? I haven't even messed with the first years' food, yet", said Fred defensively.

"Yeah, but you messed with someone else's," replied Tessa argumentatively. "I thought you said, no messing with them off the field?" She lowered her tone and glanced at the two clammy students who both stopped eating their food and were already on their second glasses of water.

"No idea what you're talking about," said Fred. He looked at her with a sly smile and went back to eating like nothing was happening two tables over.

Once they reached the Great Hall doors, after the feast ended, Blaise and Marcus speed walked towards the nearest bathroooms before anyone saw their sickly behavior. George laughed and put an arm around Tessa.

"He's just getting the message across", said George sympathetically.

"Well, it was pretty funny watching how long it took for them compose themselves. Lasted longer than I did on those things", replied Tessa.

"Those were the perfect candies too", sighed George. "Should've kept the recipe." They both smiled at the achievement.

"It did take too long though to set in", said George.

"Thankfully, for us, they will never know, since, it seemed like a normal stomach virus," said Fred.

"Don't you mean lucky for you", Tessa smirked at Fred and stared straight ahead at the first years creating a traffic jam at the moving staircases. Fred sighed growing impatient already.

"We've only been here for two hours and you're already annoyed. You're getting old Weasley", said Tessa winking at Fred as she dragged George towards a darkened arch way that would lead them to the Gryffindor tower.

"Lumos. Where's Fred?" Tessa asked trying to keep the light her wand as dimly lit as possible.

"I think he stayed behind for once," replied George. He looked forward to see a pulsating door being shown from her lack of keeping the spell at bay.

"Don't overdo it", said George. Her light slowly dimmed back down and the hallway no longer showed a door at the end. "Good. I think you're getting better at it", said George impressed with her bringing the spell back to what was desired.

She didn't really need to keep the light dim, since no one was roaming the back halls with them, but George knew it was great practice for when they needed it. Even Dumbledore thought highly on her power of spells. He and McGonagall gave her lessons, during 2nd year, to help Tessa concentrate on her spell's power, after she flooded Flitwick's classroom from reading a sixth year book.

Once they reached the door, George took out his wand from his robes.

"Lumos," said George with a flourish. He began moving his left hand forward towards the door handle, when, he heard the click of the lock before he even tried opening the door and smiled at Tessa. The door creaked open slowly to reveal a beautifully lit corridor filled with paintings of various sizes.

"Close the damn door!" said a robust woman in a very large mural lounging on a lavish sofa with a glass of wine. Tessa and George looked at each other and both walked towards the grand staircase with Tessa leaving the door slightly ajar. "How dare you!," the old woman's voice slowly faded away with George looking at the state Tessa left the door in.

"What? I was going to close it, but now it's slightly open and no one will see it 'til professors make their rounds tonight." George just walked faster ahead shaking his head.

"Hurry Tessa; they're on a stair below us!" bellowed George running up the stairs to the painting that kept their dorms hidden.

Tessa looked over the railing to see the first years looking down over the moving staircases' across the flight of stairs. They seemed to be in awe at the sight of it. But what they'll hate the most is when they're in a hurry to class and the staircase decides to move when you almost reach the top of the stairs to your desired location. Tessa ran as fast as she could to catch up to George when she heard a loud bang and looked over the railing to see puffs of smoke rising from the entrance of the dungeons. She shook her head and started moving faster to make it to the dorm before Professor McGonagall looked for all three of the pranksters.

"Fortuna Major," said Tessa while the Fat Lady and George was arguing over who created that "ghastly" noise. The painting swung open without a second thought and they scrambled into the passage way. Once the door swung shut, both sighed with relief and sat on the couch nearest the fireplace.

"Why does Fred have to do that right now," said Tessa exhaustively.

"He has his needs, and those needs are in the dungeons," said George.

"The thing is though," said Tessa. "Why didn't he ask you to come along?"

George stood up and walked to fireplace moving coals around to start the fire. "He just went on his own", George said quickly. The door swung open with screaming first years shouting in awe at their glorious common room which was the perfect get away once the crowd grew larger.

For the rest of the night Tessa forgot about her curiosity towards the two boys and played wizard's chess with Hermione and Ginny until it was time for bed. She slowly walked up the stairs with Angelina, Katie, and Alicia talking about what classes until they made it to their room.

"So the same beds I presume?" Said Tessa, while smiling at the girls.

"Yeah, Yeah", said Alicia waving towards the bed with the view of the lake. She skipped over to her bed and sat down on the newly made sheets.

"Did anyone see Fred walk in?" Said Tessa. She noticed that George left his seat once Ginny and Hermione sat next to her by the fireplace.

"I didn't see'em. But I did see George head up to the boy's dorms," said Alicia.

"Alright", replied Tessa and they continued to talk about their classes, until it was time for everyone to head to bed when the Head Girl banged in their door a second time that night for being awake after curfew.

Tessa walked into the Great Hall early the next morning. She stretched her aching body while walking in between tables. Scanning the Great Hall got her to look at a very tired group of Slytherin boys trying to eat their breakfast without falling asleep into their bowls. She still couldn't find Fred and George, but figured they would sneak into their first class without being noticed. She sat down with Hermione and at breakfast while answering Hermione's anxious questions about her third year classes and what to expect of them.

After breakfast, she headed towards her Divination class. Walking into the room, she immediately saw a couple of Ravenclaws sitting on the first level tables. Tessa smiled and opted for a table in the middle of the classroom. She sat in the middle of the three seated table and waited for Fred and George to show up.

"Morning, dear," said George sitting next to Tessa.

"Have a good sleep?" Fred finished his brothers' sentence and sat on the left of Tessa.

"Sort of, but I know you guys had a great time after you disappeared last night George", Tessa turned and smiled at George.

"We had business to attend to serious business", said Fred. She knew that was all she was going to get out of them and waited for the class to begin.

The rest of Tessa's morning classes flew by without Fred and George. She honestly could learn more without them asking her questions every few pages of notes she would write down. It was especially difficult in Trelawney's class since Tessa "had the gift", whatever that meant, and Fred and George would joke with her on every prediction she made that seemed to astound the Professor. Hermione thinks that it's a ruse to get her to stay in the class for N.E.W.T.S., which wasn't going to happen. Tessa walked into the Great Hall again for lunch and noticed a significant difference in the amount of students eating from earlier this morning.

"Damn," she whispered to herself and opted to sit with Hermione and Harry for lunch.

"So, how was your morning you guys?" Harry smiled "It was alright been a bit overwhelming, but that's always how the first day goes. Also, tryouts are today after my classes are over." Tessa's face lit up "Sweet, I can't wait." Harry smiled and began to eat his food again before talking more about it and not finish his meal.

After lunch, they parted ways, and Tessa went to a free period as she made her way to the Hall of Hexes. There was a an unoccupied study that students rarely used due to it being so far away. "Hey guys, she walked in on the boys' who were bent over a cauldron. While Fred was counting the stirs George looked up.

"Hey Tess", said George and went back to looking at the beautifully colored concoction.

"It looks like a nebula", said Tessa as she walked over to the space that was naturally made for her. "Is this the serious business?"

"Yeah", replied Fred still not looking up at her.

"It's supposed to be a modified Love Potion we're still working it out", said George.

"The thing is though. We need your help," said Fred.

"Oh, no…nope. I am not testing out this one", Tessa started making her way to the table she left her things on, until, Fred put his arm around her and steered her back to the cauldron.

"You won't be testing it," said Fred.

"But you will put it in some else's drink," finished George. She looked up at Fred who was grinning ear to ear.

"How is it modified?" Tessa asked exhaustively.

"Excellent," they both said in unison.

"Well it's the same as the original love potion, but it has some subtle qualities", said Fred excitedly.

"You see this one, we hope, will give the person a subtle infatuation—," said George.

"—More of a crush if you will think of it—" interrupted Fred, "and the affects will increase until the person feels the same affects as a regular love potion."

"And have you tested it out before?" she inquired.

"Well, no," said George.

"But we have a tester that we both feel like they would be great to use in this case," said Fred still smiling broadly.

"And who will I give this to?" Tessa looked at both of the boys hoping it would be an easy project to fulfill.

"Flint", the twins said in unison.

"I'm in", said Tessa smiling. She looked at the boys eager reactions and they went back to looking at the deep blue concoction with swirls of pink, purple, and yellow.

"So what do I need to do," said Tessa as they walked out of the study and headed to their last elective class before tryouts.

"Slytherin will try out tomorrow, right after us, as Wood made our tryouts earlier than usual", said George.

"So, we hoped that you would do it between the changing of the pitch, or wait until after their practice," said Fred who walked up right after shutting the door and locking it.

"I assume I will also have to get something from another girl for him to be infatuated with? Since you locked the door, and you haven't even given me a vial to take with me", said Tessa looking at Fred.

"Yeah, you need to get a Slytherin girls' hair from your next class", said George. "And we'll help. We chose the same elective, so it should be easy to distract the students". He lowered the volume of his voice now that more people were in the hallway.

"And it won't be hard distracting them especially the Slytherin girls", Fred winked at George. Tessa rolled her eyes as they made it to the Grand Staircase that would take them to their class.

It actually was really easy snagging a hair from a loud Slytherin girl that was too distracted by Fred in class. Tessa yanked especially hard when the girl cackled loud enough that students outside looked in t see what the problem was.

"There." Said Tessa shortly as she shoved the small strands into Fred's hands.

"Thanks, love", he said as she walked swiftly to the common room to get her broom. Tessa turned bright red, and, thankfully no one saw. She reached the end of the stair case the same time Fred and George. They slipped the vial into her Quidditch uniform pocket and swiftly made it to tryouts.

The walk to the pitch was pleasant as they told her the plans if the Slytherins were there and what should happen tomorrow. Once they made it to the field, all three went into their locker room and greeted the old team.

"So, there's only us and a few first years trying out; it should be a good round of people again", said Wood once they entered the room. "Alright! Let's go out and show what you can do." The team walked through the dark hallway towards the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

Once through, they saw the whole Slytherin team in the stands snickering with a handful of Gryffindor girls squealing and talking. "Oh great", said Oliver sarcastically. "Don't worry. Pretend they aren't here; just practice like normal." He walked to the middle of the field turned around and gave his formal speech that he did every year. "Excellent", said the twins in unison and grinned up at their projected target watching the team intently.

Oliver was finally finished with his speech and rose to the air with the chasers wanting to tryout. Tessa joined and waited for him to fly into his position. They first practiced with shots at the goals. Tessa scored most of hers with her almost hitting the right hoop to make one of them. Harry clapped at her aggressive behavior on the last goal while Wood shook his head and clapped at her beating him again.

"Risky, but good effort we need that passion in our games." It was the same thing every year, with Tessa, since Wood was Captain. He knew she would do great with more control, but her risks could cause serious penalties in matches. She would be the relief again. His three starters were excellent players that made most of their goals, as well, and they were more planned in their flying and behaviors. That is what he needed most.

After that, he gave Tessa the spot to try out for Keeper. The only thing Tessa wasn't great at was being a beater. It was too overwhelming, and keeping an eye on one Quaffle, or snitch, was enough. She did excellent as well and Wood waited until it was time for seeker. Once harry did well he leaned over to Tessa, "Would you like to try?"

Tessa smiled and readied herself on her broom. She lifted into the air as Harry's feet touched the ground. "Alright, try to catch the snitch. You will be timed", said Oliver with a muggle stop watch in his hand.

Nerves wrenched Tessa's stomach and she felt unease settling in. She lasted a little longer than Harry's try at catching the snitch, and Wood decided to place her as a substitute for all three.

"I'll most likely play against Slytherin with substituting so much this year", joked Tessa as she landed next to Wood.

"With the same team as last year, we should do well", she heard Harry say to Ron and Hermione as they left towards the castle. She smiled even wider and walked into the locker room to change as quickly as possible to make it to the stands before the Slytherin team went onto the pitch.

Tessa walked up the stairs of a green and white curtained stairwell, after changing into normal attire, and made it to the opening of a level that she knew would take her to the Slytherins watching their team practice. Pulling open the curtains to the stands, she was shocked to see Marcus Flint sitting there waiting.

"Shit", she thought to herself and quietly walked over to him and sat down.

"There's plenty of space you know", he turned to her with a frown.

"I overheard what you and Blaise Zabini were talking about on the train, and I've decided to take you up on that offer", said Tessa.

"Oh", he said with a sly smile. Trying to not roll her eyes, Tessa looked down to see a cup steaming between Marcus' fingers.

"This one will have to do", she thought to herself. She decided to place the vial into her left hand while Marcus was talking incessantly about things "She couldn't imagine".

"After hearing all of this," she said flirtasiously hoping to get this over with before anyone saw. "I was wondering if we could meet up over there tomorrow morning." Marcus raised his cup and held it close to his chest as he turned to look where she pointing. "Damn," she thought.

Without thinking, she moved her right arm around his shoulders and leaned in close with her left hand enclosed on his thigh.

"See", she said in his ear as she pointed with her right arm towards a rock on the embankment of the Lake. Marcus was looking even harder now so he would know, for sure, where to go after her stunt.

"Can you just show me after tryouts? We can walk together." He said while intently looking over the stadium. He dropping his drink next to her hand on his thigh, and she quickly poured the potion into his drink. The vibrant colors immediately blended in with his tea as it turned changed to a darker shade of brown..

After he found where she was pointing, Tessa got up.

"Alright, we must keep this subtle", said Tessa.

Marcus grunted nodding in agreement still in shock over her touching him in such a manner, and took a sip of his tea.

"What time in the morning?" Asked Marcus. Tessa smiled at her success.

"Dawn. Before Breakfast," replied Tessa slyly. She turned around and walked to the nearest tower right when the Slytherin team walked out on to the pitch. She cantered down the stairs and jogged towards the castle to tell the twins of the big news.


	4. Observations and Answers

Fred and George sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Each one would keep the conversation going with their friends, but they were too preoccupied at glancing towards the entrance. It had been over an hour since Tessa went to the Lake, and she still wasn't back yet.

"This isn't like her", thought George.

Tessa walked onto the bridge leading away from the Lake. She waited until dawn to see if Flint would show up. He never did.

"Success," said Tessa, to herself out loud.

"Success of what?"

Tessa's stomach dropped when she whipped around to see Marcus Flint in Slytherin's Quidditch practice sweats and hoodie.

"Um, j-just a successful walk on the Lake is all," stuttered Tessa as she slowly walked away back towards the castle

"Yeah, I decided to go for a run myself. Just had the urge to be down there, see you 'round," said Marcus quickly. He brushed past Tessa and continued running up to the castle looking back occasionally.

"What the hell?" Tessa thought looking at Marcus Flint's back. She jogged the longest path back to the castle; making sure to not get into Marcus' way again, and slowed a walk to fumble through her bag for a sheet of paper. Once she reach the she stopped at a wall with a smooth surface, she wrote on the sheet with a ball point pen and folded the note into a dragon. She whispered a spell and threw it in the air.

Fred stood up with George and said their goodbyes to their friends at the table. They couldn't wait any longer this wasn't normal for her to not contact them. Just as Fred turned around an origami dragon smacked him in the face and fluttered around both of the boys' heads.

George snatched the dragon and unfolded the paper while speed walking out of the Great Hall he slowed his speed when he fully read the note and turned to his brother.

"She's fine, but we need to go to the study room," said George to his brother. Fred sighed in relief and turned to make his way to the Hall of Hexes.

Tessa turned around from the window, where she was looking out at the lake, when she heard the door click open.

"What happened", said both of the twins in unison as George shut the door.

"I'm fine! Everything's fine. He never showed up at the rock, but, as I was walking back to the castle, I ran into him jogging," said Tessa quickly.

"Jogging?" George asked with a confused look on his face.

"Yes. Rarely anyone else does," said Tessa exhaustingly.

"Have you ever seen the girl you stole the hair from jogging?" Asked Fred.

"No, definitely not, but I hope we'll have class with them, again, today."

"Alright," said George.

"We'll just have to see how it goes", finished Fred.

The Morning went by, and there were no Slytherin girls gossipiong about budding ramances in their elective periods. After relentlessy eavesdropping on many crude conversations for the morning, Tessa swiftly walked into the Great Hall scanning for Hannah, the target, and Marcus.

She spotted the girl sitting with her friends cackling and laughing obnoxiously when she first walked in. Marcus was at the far end of the Slytherin table, closest to the Professors' table, with some Quidditch players.

"With his assertive and non-consensual personality, he should definitely be talking to the girl right now", said Tessa quietly to Hermione as she sat down with her.

"Marcus has been glancing at this table since I showed up," said Hermione glaring at Tessa. "He's looking at you."

"He was jogging this morning, and we crossed paths", said Tessa non chalantly.

"Right, well you should keep an eye on him. The potion is not giving him a keen eye towards the other girl", said Hermione with a worried look on her face.

"It'll be fine, if anything the potion didn't work", said Tessa. "This was an experiment after all. Hopefully the potion will set in and mediate his thoughts towards the target soon."

"It should have done it already," snapped Hermione as she reached of a bicuits that popped onto the table between them.

Afternoon classes, also, went by quickly and Tessa decided to go for a jog after her last class. She walked up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room when some seventh year Slytherin boys walked passed all looking at her intently.

"Someone saw", she thought growing nervous. She held her head up high and made it to the Fat Lady's painting.

"Fortuna Major", she whispered and walked in before the guys reached her part of the staircase. She ran up the girls' common room steps and changed into a pair of black running pants, a Gryffindor hoodie, and her new tennis shoes her parents bought for her birthday. She walked out of her dorm, and climbed the stairs, a little more, to Hermiones' dorm.  
She knocked at the door rapidly until she heard a book slam onto the floor.

"Yes?" Asked Hermione through the door.

"It's Tessa. Wanna go for a walk?" Tessa asked hoping to get her approval to join.

"Not today, but definitely tomorrow morning", replied Hermione who was still hiding behind the door.

"Alright", said Tessa and walked down to the Common Room.

"Hey, Tess." Tessa turned to see Oliver walking out of the entrance of the Boys' dorm with active clothes on as well.

"Going for a walk I see", said Tessa smiling at as Wood hopped off the last step.

"Well, yeah. Gave it a shot over the Summer, and enjoyed it. Thanks to you", Oliver smiled at Tessa as they both turned together and walked out of the Common Room.

They both walked at a quick pace once they reached the Herbology building. They jogged to Hagrid's hut and ran alongside the forest until they reached an opening to the lake. The beach was slippery after a light mist came down during the last classes of the day as the rocks squeaked and grinded against their rubber soles. Once they reached sight of the Quidditch pitch, Oliver ran full speed towards it.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Tessa yelled. She gasped for a breath as she picked up her speed to catch up. She was ten feet behind him once Olive slowed down to a walked and put his arms behind his head.

"That was a good run", he said to Tessa as she slowed down to his walking speed and nodded in agreement. As they were walking passed the entrance, she saw the Slytherin team walking out of the pitch. She wouldn't have cared to notice them, but Marcus caught her eye. His eyes were dead set on Oliver as they walked passed.

"This isn't good", thought Tessa.

"Conditioning", said Oliver annoyingly.

"What?" asked Tessa.

"Yeah the Captain came up with the idea all himself. That's why we don't have the field today", said Wood rolling his eyes.

Once they reached the castle it was time for dinner and they opted to just go in with their sweaty clothes.

"Nice jog, I see", said Hermione smiling at Tessa as she passed the trio and headed towards Lee Jordan and Angelina.

"Have you seen the twins?" Angelina asked Tessa, as soon as she sat down at the table.

"Don't know, never really saw them since afternoon classes," replied Tessa exhaustively.

"Well, they're looking for you", said Lee.

"They'll find me here", Tessa smiled at her friends shaking their heads while grabbing a roll from a basket.

As soon as the main course appeared on the table, the twins sauntered in still in their robes. "Busy, I see", said Angelina as the twins sat down.

"Nope still in our robes because we enjoy it," responded Fred sarcastically.

"Rar," said Angelina mockingly as she grabbed some food and placed it onto her plate.

Once they were all stuffed from desert Tessa stood up with Fred and George as the trio said their goodbyes and walked slowly towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

"We need to keep an eye out on Flint", said Tessa worryingly.

"Already on it", said the twins in unison.

"Right, but I think he's stuck in a limbo of—", Tessa paused contemplating for the right word.

"—Emotions," finished George. Tessa looked up at him and smiled.

"Don't worry," said Fred. "We have it under control." Fred and George smiled at each other and talked about other potions they were working on while walking up the staircase to their dorms.

The month of September went by without an issue. Flint still acted normal, but continued to randomly bump into Tessa between classes and would be cordial towards her, which was a first. He still jogged in the morning or evenings depending on his schedule, and even jogged with Tessa for a split second before veering off towards the Quidditch pitch one afternoon.

"It's weird", said Tessa to Hermione quietly after Tessa showed her a journal filled with time tables, slots of peculiar observations, and quickly scribbled notes of Marcus' activities for the past few weeks .

"You need to look into the love potion book I gave you. I assume this particular potion the twins made is more powerful on "love at first sight" than on DNA. It's not like any other love potion I've studied on. I've been reading this other book—."

Tessa tuned out Hermione after registering what she meant by love at first sight. "Shit", she thought to herself.

"The potion isn't faulty", whispered Tessa in a frantic tone.

"Quiet!," yelled an old man in a Baroque painting.

"Sorry", Tessa whispered as the old man loudly shut the book he was reading, blew out an oil lamp, and sauntered off the canvas.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you! If you would've listened instead of interrupting me", said Hermione in a parental tone.

"So let me get this straight", said Tessa still wrapping her mind around what the hell she got herself into. "After he drank the potion he, he—"

"Yes", interrupted Hermione as Tessa couldn't get the words out.

"I, no… No. This wasn't supposed to happen", said Tessa getting nauseous.

"Look, whatever the twins did while they were making the potion was new. Like I said earlier, I have never read this before, merely in theories really," said Hermione.

"The perfect love potion", said Tessa after she was finally able to catch her breath.

"The perfect love potion", Hermione repeated.

Hermione's words sunk in as Tessa walked briskly to the Hall of Hexes. She barely saw a glimpse of the door she needed to enter when the click of a lock being opened entered the silent hallway. She pushed the door open with so much force Fred nearly knocked over a line of jars they nicked from Professor Snape's office while he was teaching a long potions class.

"THE PERFECT LOVE POTION!" she shouted as her voiced echoed from the silent charm she created. Tessa reached into her bag to chunk the History and Theories of Love potions at both of their heads.

"Tess," said George.

"What are you on about?" yelled Fred as George tried to cover him and the ingredients from the book hurling towards his head. The book stopped dead in its tracks lopped to the floor, spine down, and landed on its side with a thud. She knew Fred was quick with silent spells, as well, and glared at him from across the room.

"The potion is perfect", said Tessa as she straightened up and walked over to an empty table.

"It produced love at first sight not falling in love with the Hannah girl from her strand of hair."

Fred and George looked at each other as silent filled within the room. They began to laugh so hard that George had to lean on various objects in the room for support.

"This is the best product we have ever achieved", said George smiling like a proud Father. Tessa faced grew to a shade of pink as the twins scrambled to look for the recipe they scribbled down at the beginning of the semester.

"Oh this is beautiful", said Fred.

"The things we could do!" George said with excitement over their discovery. Tessa's cheeks blushed to a shade of red before she pulled herself together and sighed.

She spotted a stack of papers with navy blue and purple dye on them.

"It's too good", said Tessa closing her eyes and rubbing her temples with her fingers.

"Oh calm down", said the twins in unison without looking up from a sheet of paper they were reading. Tessa walked towards the table and snatched up the stack papers.

"He'll lose interest eventually", said Fred.

"Unless he had feelings before", finished George with a smile.

"How about I make you deal", said Tessa. She turned around quickly towards them.

"Go on", Fred and George said in unison with a peaked interest, still scanning over papers in their hands.

"If the potion goes the way it should and he loses interest. Then, you can keep the recipe." Fred and George snapped their heads at Tessa who was holding the stack of papers in her hands. "But, if he doesn't it goes."

Fred and George turned towards each other and nodded in agreement.

"Deal."


	5. Quidditch and Hogsmeade

"That was a good speech", said Alicia as she rounded the corner towards the entrance of the pitch. It was the first week of October and practices were no longer off limits for the Quidditch teams.

"Yeah it was", said Angelina readying her broom to take flight. All three chasers reached the entrance and kicked off ready to start their first practice of the season. They were first on the pitch and decided have a few laps around the stadium before anyone else showed up.

Tessa reached the entrance next. She noticed her roommates flying and ran towards their direction. She leaped off the ground mid-sprint and positioned her broom underneath her. She flew at full speed towards her friends and caught up behind them. She rode behind Angelina which created a diamond formation in the sky as they rounded the hoops at one end of the pitch.

Tessa looked down to see Oliver strolling out if the entrance. They all slowed down and hovered near their captain as everyone else on their team began to kick off the ground towards the sky.

"We'll do a small warm up for the start of the day", said Wood. "Let's starts with you three shooting at those hoops over there, and Tessa you be keeper." Olive kicked off the ground and went towards the other direction as he threw a Quaffle to Angelina.

The warm-up went well as the Chasers practiced their formations with an equal ration of defenses and goals made by all four players. After warm-ups they scrimmaged for a while until their time was up for the day. Tessa began to tie up her sneakers as George turned to her before he left her alone in the locker room.

"You sure you'll be okay to run alone?" George asked with a slightly concerned voice.

"Yeah, no worries", replied Tessa as she finished knotting her shoe lace.

She ran towards the Lake and slowed to a fast walk. She began to stretch her arms and legs after that long practice. After stretching, she continued her jog towards Hagrid's House. She ran along the forest until she heard footsteps quickly behind her.

"Hey!" Tessa whipped around nearly tripping over an exposed limb when someone caught her arm.

"Fred! You scared the crap out of me!"

"You need a running partner," said Fred.

"Uh, yeah", said Tessa. She began to run through the woods towards the enormous hut. When she saw a figure running in the opposite direction. As the forest opened she saw the figure to be Flint who had a scowl on his face and ran past Tessa while keeping his eyes on Fred.

"I think it's time to give him a remedy", laughed Fred once he was out of range. Tessa laughed with him as they continued to the castle.

The perfect potion ceased to exist as Fred and Tessa put it in the fireplace at the Gryffindor common room. Everyone was away leaving the room to the two fifth years. Tessa sat on the small couch facing the fire resting her aching feet on the coffee table in front of them. Fred sat down next to her sharing the same tiny table as a foot rest.

"So", said Tessa after a long silence, "why did you show up so urgently?" Tessa smiled as she was admiring Fred's profile shaded perfectly by the fire.

"Intuition", said Fred faking a smile his eyes certainly did not show. Tessa nodded her head and looked at the fire instead.

"It's probably a good thing she shouldn't know", Fred thought to himself as he watched the girl getting lost in her thoughts as well. She shouldn't know that Marcus was waiting for her to leave the pitch and ran the opposite direction to catch her alone in the woods. His intentions were not innocent and Fred was not going to let Tessa leave his side until the remedy was placed in his drink by his brother during their first match.

"I will let nothing happen to her", thought Fred to himself.

He felt a slight bump on his shoulder as he looked down. His face was engulfed in hair. He smiled and turned his head back towards the fire making sure his movements were slow. "This is nice", he thought to himself as he lowered his head to rest on hers.

"Really, nice", he whispered to himself hoping that no one would come into the common room for the rest of the evening.

"Password?" Tessa and Fred both jerk their head up and quickly moved away from each other. Both felt too awkward to acknowledge how she got there or how he didn't move her, so they both turned and waited for whomever to come in. The painting swung open to reveal most of their house walking in. Students chatting away about their classes dispelled the beautiful serenity in the room. Tessa stood up to talk to Ginny, whom waved her over to an empty frantically. Fred stood up and walked towards the painting. He was ready to tell his brother of the devastating loss to their project.

Tessa sat down at a table occupied by Hermione, Crookshanks, and Ginny. "So", said Ginny with a smirk on her face, "I saw something rather interesting since I was the first one to walk into the room." Tessa blushed.

"It just kind of happened," said Tessa looking down at her trainers. "We had a bit of a scare with an experiment, but it's ending tonight. It was perfect". Tessa sighed with Hermione who looked relieved after she heard the termination of the potion.

"Well it looks like that experiment has opened a door", said Ginny still smiling broadly at Tessa.

"I don't know", said Tessa blushing even more. "It'd be nice if it had", smiled Tessa who was looking at an ecstatic Hermione and Ginny at what could be after tonight.

Fred walked into the study room where George was working on sickly treats.

We lost the bet", said Fred.

"Figured", said George stirring a bright orange potion clockwise. "Especially after you ran to Tessa when I pointed out that Flint was running towards her direction."

"It was intentional", said Fred defensively. "I saw him walking near the Lake before practice.—"said Fred in a matter-of-fact tone.

"—He was waiting for her", interrupted George. "I'm not saying you chasing after her were wrong, but she can handle things on her own. You should know after years of your ass getting kicked in dueling class."

George finally looked up to see his brother. Fred stopped pacing and was brooding in a corner looking at sketches of packaged boxes and bottles that Tessa made.

"I know you're protective of her, however, I don't think you realize when you're overprotective and when you're not. When are you going to tell her?" George asked his brother who finally seemed to calm down after talking about Flint, which seem to light a fire in his brother.

"I'm not ready yet," said Fred who was still looking down at the sketches. "I like her a lot, but I want to have a friendship with her for now; I don't want to ruin this." Fred finally walked over to the cauldron and took over stirring for his brother.

"Just don't get mad when more guys become interested because they are and she won't wait for you," said George while stretching his aching arms and walking over to a few open books on a table nearby.

Classes and practices came and went, and it was time for the first Quidditch match. The sky in the Great Hall was very ominous as Tessa was eating her breakfast with the team while listening to Wood talk about tactics against Hufflepuff, at the Gryffindor table. After breakfast, they quickly ran to the stadium and prepared for the most exciting game of the season, so far.

"I'll meet up with you guys later", said Tessa as she was still getting Harry's affects from the locker room.

"Look, you did a great job out there. Being Seeker is extremely hard in this type of weather." Angelina patted Tessa on the back and closed the curtain behind her. She didn't want to face anyone after that disaster of a game.

"The worst I've ever played", thought Tessa to herself as she turned to leave the locker room. She walked out with one arm free as she closed the curtain shut. "Looks like the only luck you had was taking someone's place."

Tessa shut the curtain so fast she nearly ripped the rood off the wall. Turning around she saw Marcus Flint leaning on a wall nearest the exit.

"If you hadn't noticed, the weather prevented me from playing well", said Tessa trying to find a way around Marcus without getting near him.

"But", said Flint as he paused while leaning of the wall and walking towards Tessa. "You look better off the field anyway. Wouldn't want to ruin this perfection playing more games now would we."

"There you are. Thank you for waiting on me dear". Cedric Diggory sauntered out into the hallway and made his way towards Tessa.

"Glad you could make it was beginning to worry about you", said Tessa who speed walked to Cedric. He grabbed Harry's equipment from her hands as she put her arm around his waist. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and they walked out without saying a word to the Slytherin Captain muttered slurs and profanities in the darkness.

"Thank you", said Tessa as the exit opened to a cloudy sky lit up in hues of yellow and orange from the castles' lights.

"No worries", said Cedric. "I saw him waiting outside of your locker room and decided to wait as well." They walked a few feet until Tessa registered that he wasn't moving his hands away from her shoulders. She wasn't moving her hands either, so she kept on walking with a grin plastered to her face at Cedric keeping the charade going.

They made it the castles' entrance when Cedric turned his head slightly. Two giggling girls from Gryffindor stopped dead in their tracks and began to excitedly whisper at the sight they were witnessing.

"Well we've been spotted", said Cedric with pink cheeks flushing his skin.

"Good, let's take the long way", said Tessa. A smile erupted from his face as they slowly made their way to the Common Room. They began talking about classes and things that interested them, besides Quidditch, until they reached the Gryffindor Common Room.

"This is where I leave you", said Cedric as he removed his arm around her shoulder. "I'll see you around; maybe Hogsmeade?" Tessa looked up at the 6th year to see whether he was still playing or was serious.

"Uh, yeah. I should be there", said Tessa after she realized he was serious. "I'll hold you to it then. See you around." Cedric walked away with his hands in his pockets and skipping down the steps to his dorm.

Tessa exhaled the breath she held in from surprise, and walked into of the common room to look for Fred and George. Swinging the painting shut she felt someone grab her.

"You're so lucky!" Angelina harshly whispered as she felt her friend bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Yeah", said Tessa in response. The two girls who spotted them earlier already made their rounds in the Common Room. She won't be playing any matches soon after the stunt they pulled, and only she and Diggory would know why.

After being congratulated by all the girls in the common room and glared at by the boys, she made her way to the Hall of Hexes first before venturing any further through the castle. As she was rounding the corner of one of the staircases, she felt some yank at her arm and pull her into darkness. She immediately saw wavy strands of ginger hair enveloping her face and loosened the grip on her wand she had immediately drawn from her hoodie's pocket.

"He will never come near you again," said Fred who held her tighter.

"He better not," mumbled Tessa.

"We overheard what happened as Cedric was walking in the Great Hall with his friends," said George.

"You have some explaining to do young lady", said Fred after pulling her away from him swiftly.

"I do?!" yelled Tessa, at the back of Fred's, after they made it to an empty hallway. She tried to keep up with Fred's pace as he was in the lead.

"Just because he saved your arse doesn't mean you accept an invitation to Hogsmeade", said Fred over his shoulder argumentatively.

"He just beat us Tess," said George.

"And you decide to go on a date instead of going to the Hospital Wing", finished Fred.

"I was the only one who decided to grab Harry's things, since Wood was too busy wallowing in the showers, and everyone else left. Also, I was nearly attacked by the same guy you said you gave a remedy potion to. If Cedric hadn't have been there—"

"—He still doesn't need the reward of taking you on a date", interrupted Fred walking even faster. Tessa stopped walking with them after Fred ignored her grabbing his arm to slow down.

"IT'S NOT A DATE!" yelled Tessa. Her voice echoed through empty hallway as she looked at the back of Fred's head slowly fading in the shadows.

"So they left you in a dark hallway?" Hermione slammed her book shut and looked up at Tessa.

"Fred did, but George walked me back to the Common Room. Told me he'd see me around", Tessa said sullenly.

"He shouldn't have treated you that way even if Cedric's team just beat us. It's not right", said Hermione with a huff.

"Oh, relax. Fred's just jealous", said Ginny who was setting up the Wizard's Chess board for her and Tessa to play one.

"But why would he be?," asked Tessa. Ginny smiled and began to set up the players for the first round, or many, to begin for the night before answered Tessa's questions.

The next week flew by with no traces of Fred and George after classes. She only saw them at practices that became increasingly more intense as their next game was closing in. With such a busy schedule she didn't notice that Hogmeade was closing in as well.

"So what are you going to wear tomorrow", said Katie as she placed her clothes next to the chair by her bed.

"I don't know, something warm", said Tessa lazily. Silence enveloped the room as the girls turned to stare at her.

"You're going on a date whether you think so or not", replied Angelina with a laugh.

"Yeah he didn't ask you as a buddy, don't deny it", interjected Alicia. Tessa's face grew red with the thought of going out on a date. She was excited when Cedric asked and Fred seems like he doesn't even want hang out for a while, so why wait on him to get over whatever he's doing. She smiled.

"Alright help me pick out the clothes", said Tessa. Voices of excitement and advice enveloped the room on what to wear as the night flew by until Percy's girlfriend banged on their door a second time to go to sleep.

Hogsmeade was slow today with upper year students mostly studying at the bookshop or pubs. The four girls walked around visiting the various shops that gave them the opportunity to replenish on school supplies before Tessa left to meet up with Cedric.

"Where did he ask you to meet him?" asked Angelina quietly while in Spintwitches.

"Uh here actually," said Tessa looking around in hopes he hadn't showed up yet.

"Of course", rang out in response by all three of her roommates.

"Why did he not choose Honeydukes? Or Three Broom sticks, at least," said Angelina; who rolled her eyes at the fact that Tessa was meeting a boy in a sporting goods store.

"I know right", replied Tessa while Alicia and Katie mumbled in agreement.

 _Ding._

The door swung open quickly and slowly closed as the person tried to keep the wind from blowing it back, hard, against the wall. Angelina gasped and ran into the aisle where Tessa was inspecting a very old Swiftstick.

"He looks so good", mumbled Katie as he walked around the shop unknowing of the girls' presence. He walked passed their aisle obliviously looking in the other direction at nicer brooms across the shop.

"Go", muttered Angelina. Tessa shook her head frantically. Before she could even put the broom back she was shoved out of the aisle. She shockingly looked at the back of Cedric's head and threw the broomstick back at the girls giggling from Tess' perplexed expression.

"Oh! There you are", said Cedric as he walked up to her. He gave her a hug that lasted longer than Tessa anticipated and walked over to the counter to pay for the Quidditch repair equipment in his hand.

"He does look good" thought Tessa to herself as she glance up and down at the Captain's attire. He wore black straight pants, a black fitted longed sleeved shirt that's slightly poking up from his light grey thigh length pea-coat, and light brown high top matte sneakers. She could tell that he borrowed some clothes from his friends to pull the look off, and he pulled it off well. He ushered her out of the shop and she careened her neck around to glare at her friends. They waved back, giggling, as she walked out the door into the brisk weather.

He let her lead the way as they walked down the increasingly busy street. "So, where to first?" Tessa turned her head to Cedric as she asked.

"Anywhere you wanna go", he replied smiling at her. Tessa blushed and made her way to a bookshop near the three broomsticks. She really just wanted to walk outside, and the talk with him their conversation so far went really well without any mention of Quidditch which would be great in helping with staying outside longer. Once they made it to a bookshop Tessa immediately stopped and turned around.

"Actually I would like to walk outside with you. It's so nice out and I highly doubt we'd get another day without snow at Hogsmeade." Tessa shifted awkwardly hoping he didn't think it was odd to just stand outside. It was a date.

"Actually, that sounds so much better than walking around shops aimlessly", said Cedric who seemed relieved that he didn't have to stay inside the whole Hogsmeade trip. Tessa smiled broadly and walked further into town.

The date was going surprisingly well. Cedric felt nervous at first after coming across a very annoyed Fred Weasley and other Gryffindors while walking to the equipment shop. He just wanted to know Tessa better after having a chance to hang out with her for a few days last Summer. It was pleasant being around a girl who liked the same things he did. Their conversation never ended as he thought it might and was glad the brisk air kept Tessa closer to him. Once they reached the end of the road Tessa sat on a stone fence to watch the people walking through town.

"I like watching people", said Tessa after a third year with a bag full of sweets ran across the street to his friends.

"Yeah it's a change of scenery", said Cedric who was looking more at the person next to him rather than the people in town. She looked up at Cedric, too, while he was still talking about the town's history and people.

"Damn", she thought as she looked at his profile down to his mouth. She didn't realize he turned his head back to her after scanning the crowd until his mouth was getting closer. "Shit, it's happening."

"Shit, it's happening," thought Fred. He threw his brother a few coins and ran out of Honeydukes after seeing Tessa and Cedric left the Quidditch shop. He fumbled in his coat bag and stuffed a few stink pellets into his hand for quick use.

By the time he looked up Cedric and Tessa were gone. "Damn", thought Fred. He shook his head and leaned against a wall waiting for the crowd to disperse so he would see them again; without being seen by Tessa.

"She'll keep a sharp-eye on you after your little tantrum", said his brother as they were walking to Hogsmeade. He shook his head as he remembered his brothers' words. And after what Lee overheard Ginny say to Tessa when he noticed them playing, too long, of a game of Wizard's Chess surely set him to make sure his plan goes smoothly. He had to make this go right; for him anyways. He looked up as the crowd parted to see Tessa and Cedric sitting on a stone fence.

"She looks great as always. Oh, why'd he have to match her", thought Fred as he looked at their black and grey attire. As he made his way across the street he nearly tripped trying to, quickly, hide behind a pillar as Cedric looked towards Fred's direction. He waited a few more seconds before looking from behind the pillar into their direction. He wished he hadn't.

Pulling away from the kiss, Tessa sworn she saw a wisp of red hair going into Honeydukes. She hadn't even thought about Fred this entire day, and, for once, it was nice. Cedric smiled and shook his head as he looked at his feet.

"Uh, sorry", said Cedric smiling. "I, uh, usually ask first", he laughed as he said it.

"No! It's fine," said Tessa still in shock of the sudden affection.

"Wanna go get some lunch?" Cedric asked as he looked up at the increasing crowd of students leaving the pubs and cafes.

"eh. Yeah", said Tessa smiling as Cedric grab her hand and walked with her to The Three Broomsticks.

"That was fast", implied Lee as Fred walked over to where he and George were standing.

"Not worth the time", said Fred picking up and put down candies anxiously.

"No, I meant—". George elbowed Lee and shook his head.

Fred knew they saw it; the whole world saw it. "Why? Fucking git. Still trying to show off, even off the field. No first kiss should last that long." He was lost in his thoughts the rest of the time in the shop. His stomach began to ache as the memory set in. He walked around, aimlessly, with his friends in Honeydukes until they decided to eat before heading back to the castle.

"The Three Broomsticks?" Lee asked jolting Fred out of his thoughts.

"No", replied Fred as they walked in the opposite direction to a small café.


	6. Experiments and A Date

"Meet us after dinner".

She kept the note in her pocket the rest of the Hogsmeade trip after being smacked in the face by it while waiting for Cedric to come out of The Three Broomsticks. She glanced over at Cedric talking animatedly to his friends.

"Probably talking about the date", said Hermione with a smirk on her face. Tessa looked up at her with a glare and rolled her eyes.

"It wasn't a date, until he kissed me, I guess", replied Tessa. She felt the table vibrate as Hermione slammed her Astronomy book shut.

"Tessa—", said Hermione annoyed.

"—I know, I know", she replied waving off Hermione's advances. "It just kind of happened, but I think Fred saw". She had been admiring the back of Fred's head long enough to know which twin was spying on her that afternoon. "They asked me to meet with them later." Tessa shook her head nervously while looking down. "I haven't seen them outside of classes or practices in a week".

Hermione nodded her head understanding the issue at hand.

"Now's not the time to talk, later", finished Ginny sitting down next to Tessa as she moved towards the girls when Hermione slammed her book shut. Everyone probably heard and knew what happened with her and Cedric now. Of course the entire Hufflepuff table knew before Tessa even sat down. Even though Cedric was humble, his friends definitely were not as they were high-fiving their blushing Captain for scoring on and off the field.

"He won't be too happy when Fred gets a hold of him", said Ginny watching the Hufflepuff table with Tessa.

After saying goodbye to Hermione and Ginny, Tessa made her way to the study room. What Ginny said pulled her deep into her thoughts on what Fred had in plan for her new…friend. She imagined sickly products oozing out of filled candies or new love potions, less strong of course, that the twins were making while she was away.

With a slight shake of her head, Tessa began noticing that it was getting darker and darker to see as she wove through stairs and hallways to reach her destination. She rounded a corner and stopped immediately. With only the moonlight showing through the hall she was on, Tess could see complete darkness that would bestow upon her if she went around the corner of the hall to the right; which, coincidentally, was the hallway she needed to take to reach Fred and George. With only the sound of wind howling against the glass windows and making them shutter, Tessa creeped her way to the hall with her wand drawn.

Her heart pounded in her chest and ears, Tessa breathed slowly to keep her focused and ready for what could ensue. "This isn't normal", she thought to herself. "This hallway is never dark." She pushed herself up against the wall closest to the darkness and inched her way to the edge wand at the ready against her chest.

Before she could psych herself out, Tessa crouched and swung her left arm into the darkness. A bright fireball zoomed high into the hallway blinding anyone in its wake. She quickly lunged to the center of the hall for a better shot, and, with another flick of her wrist, she petrified a blinded Marcus Flint. The lamps immediately burst in flames once more as Flint fell to the ground lifting his spell off them.

"Merlin, you're stupid", said Tessa as she walked towards his body which began to levitate. She yanked on the hood of his jacket as she walked past and dragged him down the hall with her.

"I think it's ready", said George as he looked down at the remedy for.

"Great now we can move on", replied Fred. The door to the room swung open. The brothers looked up as Tessa walked in with a levitating body in tow. They noticed by the colors of the jacket and jet-black, overly gelled, hair that the body was Marcus Flint, even with the boy's arms shielding his face. Once fully in the room, Tessa stopped in front of the twins' cauldron situated on a table in the center of the room.

"So the potion is ready then?" asked Tessa to the perplexed twins.

"Yes," they both answered in unison.

"Good," said Tessa. The door swung shut at the same time Marcus Flint's body dropped to the floor with a thud. "Let's get started".

The twins did miss Tessa helping them with their projects. With only Lee helping them, the twins barely made it passed finishing their experiments from eating the all the sugary candies before placing the liquid filling of their potions in them.

"So, how are we going to do this", said Fred glancing disgustingly at Flint's still body.

"I have his wand so he can't really defend himself. Just let me know when you're ready", replied Tessa nonchalantly not looking away from her sketches that were smeared and splattered with liquid of potions that exploded from lack of precision and care. The twins smirked at each other and turned to the cauldron. Fred grabbed a cup while George stirred the potion with a ladle.

With a flick of Fred's wand the binding curse lifted. Marcus slowly began moving his sore body still blinded by the bright lights. He stood up and stumbled over to a nearby table to regain his footing.

"Obliviate," said Tessa barely flicking her wand in Marcus' direction. A flash of light hit Flint's head, and she walked over to the dreamy looking boy. "Drink this", she handed him the cup. "And go to your room. You had a great practice today. Go and get some rest." Marcus looked less dreamily at Tessa after downing the entire drink and walked out of the room after tossing the cup towards a bin filled with crumpled papers.

Fred gulped slightly at Tessa's skill and turned around towards the window. His stomach began to hurt thinking about earlier that day. "Ginny's right", thought Fred. He had so many ideas of getting back at Cedric for the game and date. Two hits in one week were definitely taking a toll on his work and he needed to let it go. "She'll lose interest soon".

He remembered Ginny saying that after he stormed into the Common Room and sat down by her on the couch by the fire place and told her what happened. "She better", he thought to himself as he could hear Tessa and George laughing at the story she was telling him.

"You never cease to amaze me", said George wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her into an embrace.

"At least, you're okay", said Fred. He leaned off the wall and walked back towards the two. She pushed George away as all three began to laugh at outcome of their experiment.

"It was an enjoyable ride", said Tessa as the twins ushered her to a table where Snape's viles of ingredients lay.

All three grabbed a few vials with each hand and stuffed them in a box. They began cleaning up the study room as they all called it a day. Nothing was brought up about the date, and both Fred and Tessa were relieved to not talk about it.

"Alright Lee and I took Snape's things back yesterday, so it's your turn", said George shoving the box into Fred's stomach. Fred grunted from the weight of the box underneath his arms. "You too, Tessa."

Fred glared at his brother and began walking away with Tessa in tow. "So how was your week?" Asked Tessa with uncertainty at how the conversation would pan out.

"It was alright. Not as great with you being away." Fred thought the last part of his sentence to himself. Tessa should know they're okay now; he did send the letter and she came back.

They walked down the hall talking about random potions Tessa found from books in the library, until they heard footsteps across the hall. "Mrs. Norris!, they said in unison as they both ran into a hallway with massive windows along either side of them.

Tessa rounded the corner of the hall first when she Mrs. Norris sitting in the center on the hallway. "Raaaarrrr," screeched the cat as Tessa threw her into the air with a levitating spell. They ran underneath the falling cat who halted to a stop inches above the ground.

"How'd you do that!" bellowed Fred as he looked back at the cat scrambling down the hall to her beloved owner.

"Not the time", yelled Tessa as she opened a set of unfamiliar doors and stepped into a glorious room filled with books, records, a bed, a couch, and a lit fireplace. Small lanterns covered the roof that was in the shapes of constellations. Fred shut the door behind him.

"Well, we're going to be here for a while; lets enjoy it," said Fred as he walk down the two steps of the entrance and sprawled out on the couch. Fred looked down at the table in front of him and picked up a book.

"Sweet travels: Journey to the perfect candy," said Fred. He smiled and turned his head to Tessa.

"Looks like this place knows what you need." Tessa rolled her eyes and stood up.

She sat back down at the couch after picking up a Muggle book about ancient Europe and dark magic. She wanted to know more about her mother's work since she couldn't necessarily say it once she got back from her excursions.

"I'm sorry for all this," said Fred. He rarely said sorry especially in front of people he knew he had to say it to. It was mostly George saying sorry for them both.

"Comes with being the guinea pig," said Tessa opening to a chapter on Feline superstition. "I think I want a cat," said Tessa to Fred.

"She and Crookshanks would be great together," said Fred. She shoved their shoulders together in response. While leaning back she felt Fred's arm curl around her and pull her back into his body.

The fire crackled and nipped with sparks as it was aching for fresh kindling, but Fred wouldn't dare budge after this move pulled off. They were sitting here for at least thirty minutes; that wasn't long enough. Even the silence with occasional turning of a page was music to his ears. He felt a slight lift from his right side. Tessa stood up and walked over to casing filled with dry wood. She lifted two out and placed them neatly over the fire.

"Damn", he thought to himself. She walked back to the couch and sat down closer to Fred than earlier. He never tried to put his arm back around her and she turned her body slightly leaning on his shoulders.

Tessa to sat in the quiet long enough to fall asleep with her head resting on the back of the couch. She woke up to register that her stomach was growling. "I think it's safe to leave," said Tessa stretching. With no response she turned around to an empty place no longer filled with warmth. She whipped her head around the room as she got up quickly. She was alone. With a sigh she picked her book and placed it on the bookshelf. Walking back to the fire, she doused the coals that quickly emitted smoke into the chimney. She turned around to see Fred's fallen book, pages down, on the left side of the couch. "He seemed to have left in a hurry," Tessa thought sarcastically as she shook her head and made her way out of the cold dimly lit room to the Common Room.

"So, you left her in a room that anyone could get in", whispered George as he cornered his brother in the increasingly smaller Common Room, slowly, being filled by more classmates.

"Yeah, not cool", piped in Lee.

"Get off me", said Fred pushing his brother away who was trying to get him to say anything after Lee and George asked him about Tessa. "Look, she's safe I promise. I had to take the potions back before Snape did his daily inventory", said Fred still trying to process the situation he was in.

At that moment Ginny stormed into the Common Room and walked over to her brothers. She tipped toed to reach Fred's neck and yanked his sweater leading him back out of the room.

"Why did you leave her alone? What is wrong—," said Ginny. That was all Fred had to hear before seeing Tessa enter through the door after saying goodbye to Cedric.

"Damn", Fred thought to himself. He tried to let her sleep and be nice by taking the stuff back on his own, but even that ruined his chances. He briskly walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory with George and Lee in tow. They called it an early night but stayed up, until the early hours of morning, making plans for their new project that would be in effect next Hogsmeade trip.

Tessa's days went surprisingly well. Practice was rough and was slowly taking a toll, but being around Cedric made her feel better.

"I don't know it's something new, but I feel good about this", said Tessa to Angelina while walking back to the castle.

"Yeah, it's nice to see you happier", Angelina smiled at her friend knowing that the temporary out casting of the twins put Tessa in a slump last week.

"Hey, you", Angelina and Tessa looked over to see Cedric jogging up to the girls, still in school uniform.

"He still looks good even in uniform", whispered Angelina to Tessa. Tessa smiled and gave Cedric a hug as he walked up to them.

"See you", said Angelina giving the two some space.

"So I was thinking we could g oto Hogsmeade, tomorrow, for lunch?" Tessa's eyes widened. She was surprised at how quickly the week went by.

"Yeah that'd be nice", said Tessa.

"I would like to hang out with some friends too," thought Tessa to herself.

"You're more than welcome to parts ways, though, to spend time with your friends", said Cedric looking out to the Lake. Tessa smiled and looked out on the Lake with him.

"So, how was practice?" Cedric asked, he looked at Tessa waiting for a response after her face had fallen.

"It was alright. Wood has been hounding on us non-stop after your win", said Tessa she nudged Cedric with her shoulder. Cedric smiled and shook his head.

"Well you shouldn't be working that hard", said Cedric.

"What do you mean?" Tessa gazed at him extremely confused.

"Well you're a substitute right? Ours don't really do much except play in scrimmages and help us warm-up so—"

Tessa already made it to the Herbology building before Cedric even notice she left. She skipped every other step going as quickly as she could towards the slowly abandoned hallways.

"Why would he say that!", Tessa's mind was racing as she shut the door to the empty study room that didn't look quite as homey with the twins cauldron no longer in the center. "The hell?" Tessa shoved a book off the table across the room, and sat on the table with notes strewn across the floor trailing to the opened book next to the window.

"Shit", said Tessa out loud. The only word she could finally muster without resentment or anger. "It was fun while it lasted", said Tessa again while looking down at her freshly untied shoe lace.

"What was?"

George walked into a mess. Papers strewn about the room, and a teary eyed Tessa the moment she saw him. "Shit", thought George to himself as he immediately walked over and held his friend in his arms. He knew by now that's what a girl wanted in situations like this.

"Don't you dare tell anyone", said Tessa between gasps of air. George rolled his eyes and patiently waited for the sob-fest to be over.

Tessa finally began calming down to a few sniffles here and there. "So what happened?" George asked with a slight waiver in his voice. He hoped this wouldn't cause another fit of sadness and anger.

"Cedric said I was only a substitute and shouldn't be working that hard with the team as I probably wouldn't play that much." Tessa was slightly exaggerating of course. She honestly only heard him say that she was only a substitute and nothing more, but she knew what he meant and that's what hurt her most.

"You helped us win a game last semester during the Slytherin match, and Wood sees you as a part of this team like Angelina or even himself for that matter. He took up jogging for Merlin's sake", said George defensively.

Tessa smiled and leaned into George's shoulder. "I called it off I guess.—," said Tessa.

"—Very informally I might add," interrupted George. They both laughed and began talking about how funny Tessa looked when she cried until her cheeks turned to a normal flush of pink.

The next visit to Hogsmeade was spectacular. Fred and George bought Tessa lunch and treated her to a few more butter beers than she would've liked as Cedric looked on brooding in a corner with his friends.

"You guys are showing off now", said Angelina as the third round of Butter Beer began to flow across the table.

"Just cheering up a dear friend," replied George as he raised his glass to tap Lee's already half full glass.

The group of five walked out to the main street of Hogsmeade and meandered from shop to shop looking for school supplies and snacks.

"Let's leave early", whispered George in Tessa's ear.

"The new project must be ready to make", thought Tessa as she smiled and walked with the twins towards the castle.

"Hey, Tessa!" All three whipped around to see Cedric jogging up to them. A moan of annoyance escaped Fred's mouth.

"I was wondering if we could talk." Cedric said with hopefulness in his voice.

"Yeah. Meet you at the Lake, later this Afternoon. Before dinner", said Tessa.

"Okay see you then", said Cedric with a smile on his face and walked back to Hogsmeade.

"Don't assume I'm giving him another chance Weasleys", said Tessa to the twins before they could interject. "Just ending this on a good note." Fred smiled broadly and turned to walk back to the castle before Tessa could see it.

They made it to the Hall of Hexes just in time to hear Filch talking to Mrs. Norris a few hallways away. Tessa quietly shut the door behind her and used a spell to conceal sound inside the room.

"We should be okay", she said after hearing him walk passed yelling at two students making out at the end of the hallway.

"Alright me and George will go get the stuff after you guys failed last time," said Lee jokingly while pulling the box off the back table and shrinking it with a spell to fit in his pocket.

"Remember just guava gum from the Herbology building and remedy potions from Snape's storage," said Fred to Lee as he was heading out the door.

"We know", said the two boys in unison as the door shut closed.

This had been the first time Tessa and Fred were alone since a week ago. She looked up at Fred who went back to his cauldron. Fred rolled up his sleeves from his homemade sweater his mother made him, and began scrubbing his cauldron with soap and a steel sponge.

"Damn," thought Tessa watching his shoulder blades roll up and down from intense work.

"So what are you working on", said Fred after a long amount of silence with only his rhythmic scrubbing of the cauldron enveloped the room. Tessa shook her head slightly and quickly looked down.

"Uh just some sketched for boxes", said Tessa trying to remember which boxes she was looking at again.

"Which ones?"

"Shit", thought Tessa. "The chewables variety box where it—,"

"—Where it flips open with many storage compartments," said Fred interrupting her.

"Yes", said Tessa.

"Lemme see."

Tessa jumped slightly at how quickly Fred was at her side. Extremely close by Tessa's social standards, not that she was complaining about that anyway.

"Here," she hastily handed him the papers.

Fred laid the papers on the table between them and leaned in close to Tessa's right shoulder. Sure there was plenty of room on the table to give him and Tessa space, but now wasn't the time to be considerate. He wanted to be selfish and envelop himself in her scent. He missed the smell of coconut and aloe mixed together. That's what he thought of when he could smell Tessa anyway. She wasn't pulling away, so he figured it was good the keep on trying to see where he would end up in this situation with her. At least, it could become a reality now instead of only being in his thoughts.

Tessa began talking about her plans of altering this box to pull out like a drawer. Fred gave his own ideas for the box. Soon, they began talking to each other like they always used to with jokes and flirtatious banter between them as they playing off of each other's' ideas for future projects. It was nice going back to the way things were, and it was even better now that they were showing more physical contact towards one another.

Tessa grew more comfortable with his presence and leaned into his body.

"I think that would be a great idea, but we need colorful sketches. Could you somehow get those colored pencils that the children used at kings crossing?"

Tessa laughed and responded, "Sure. I'll send a letter to my dad tomorrow they should arrive by Thursday if he has time." Tessa looked up at Fred.

"Shit she's looking at me", thought Fred. He actually thought of a lot of things after she leaned into him, but he tried to keep those under control. "Cool," uttered Fred looking at Tessa flushed face and lips.

"Cool", Tessa replied. Fred slightly leaned down a little. Her face was getting progressively closer even when he wasn't moving anymore.

"Wicked", thought Fred as Tessa began to tiptoe slightly to meet his lips.

The doorknob shook wildly and Tessa jumped away from Fred and began blushing profusely. "WHO CARES?" Fred thought visibly frustrated.

Even if Lee and his brother walked in, Fred would've still made out with her, if, she hadn't moved away. Fred sighed and tried to cover his hips from view with the cauldron and began scrubbing it again with more force and at a faster pace. Fred couldn't tell if he was mad at himself for giving in so quickly or Tessa for not allowing his fantasies to become a reality.

"Hope you didn't miss us too much when we were away", bellowed George as he lugged a tub filled with Guava Gum into the room.

"Thankfully Snape was too busy to look into his room while on patrol in the dungeons. Almost, lost a few points," Lee happily still high from the adrenaline rush of sneaking past Snape.

"And a few helping hands", replied Tessa smiling.

"You okay Fred?" Lee asked the other twin as George waddled to the other side of the room and plopped the tub down with a soft thud.

"Oh yeah, perfectly fine now that you're here," said Fred sarcastically. Thankfully Lee was too invested about telling his journey to Tessa to notice Fred's sarcasm. Tessa blushed at the confirmation of what Ginny has been telling her all semester.

"I guess he does want the same thing", thought Tessa. "Maybe."

Tessa walked passed the Herbology building, after putting back the excess gum, and towards a figure she saw skipping rocks across the steamy lake. Cedric turned around to meet her gaze once he heard the crunching of rocks against Tessa's boots.

"I'm sorry," both said in unison. They laughed at how quickly they blurted it out.

"You go first," said Cedric.

"Okay," Tessa replied. "I'm sorry for walking away. What you said really offended me. I know I'm good a Quidditch, but I lack in control, and you stating that my hard work shouldn't mean as much to me and my team lit a fire in me and walking away was the only thing I could think of. I know I was wrong for doing that and not talking to you until you chased after me wasn't right either."

Cedric smiled at Tessa after she finished and walked a few steps forward. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have compared you to our team's substitutes like that. Wood obviously takes a liking towards you as a relief player. You have played in more games than any substitute I have ever seen, and I should've taken that into account. Before, I ruined it."

Cedric looked down and began kicking a rock back and forth with his feet.

"I think we should just be better off as friends," said Tessa.

"Yeah, I agree," replied Cedric who smiled up at her. "It would be better this way," thought Cedric to himself.

"We can still hang out of course. I loved walking with you through Hogsmeade." Cedric smiled and blushed while looking down at his shoes again.

"Yeah," he said. "We'll go again soon."

Tessa walked over to Cedric and linked arms with his. "Good," replied Tessa as they walked along the Lake. They decided to take the long way back to the castle talking about how their day went and how Cedric's next match with Ravenclaw would be that was coming up soon.

Fred and George made their way to Snape's storage room with no sight of any teachers in their midst. It was time for the weekly teachers meeting that happened every Saturday before dinner. This was the time Fred and George could get away with anything they needed to get done without haste.

"I saw what happened," said George.

"It was something," replied Fred sarcastically. George shook his head.

"Keep an eye out," said George.

"Oh, I'll make sure to watch for teachers that are completely across the castle", said Fred nudging his brother. George laughed as he unlocked Snape's storage room and used a spell to quickly place all of the potions they confiscated back into their appropriate places.

The potions landed on the correct shelves and swiveled to be in the appropriate placement that Snape had left them. Fred shrunk the boxes and placed them in his pocket as they walked down the hall towards the Slytherin dungeons.

Everyone was in the Common Room after dinner. Tessa was talking to Angelina and Wood about Quidditch tactics for the next game while Fred and George were talking to Ginny in the corner.

"So, when are you guys going to work on your next project," said Ginny as she began shuffling muggle cards with a smirk on her face.

"We can't get past you," said George.

"Of course there are many projects we are working on," said Fred grabbing the cards from his sister and distributing them amongst the three siblings and placing the rest of the cards in the middle.

"But the real question is," said George. "Which one are you talking about?" The twins smirk matching their sisters as they played a round of muggle poker.

The next few weeks for Tessa and the twins were dismal. Some of the girls frequently "shunned" Tessa still thinking she was with "their" man after seeing both at Hogsmeade together almost every weekend. Fred and George were too busy to notice anybody with the Holidays coming soon. This helped Tessa considerably, one day, when a very attractive Hufflepuff bared her soul, and body, to Fred in class and he only replied with nice to see you while walking over to George and Tessa, leaving behind a sea of doubt and utter shock that riddled the blonde girls face.

"Are you going to the match this weekend?" asked Tessa to Fred and George who were pouring a gooey potion over some freshly chewy slabs that they made to roll into a swirly treat. "Of course," said George.

"Wouldn't want to miss that badger lose to a couple of birds," finished Fred who looked up at Tessa and winked. Tessa blushed. Fred was giving her plenty of his attention lately, but she pushed it aside until he actually showed her something that he doesn't do to almost every girl in school.

Blue, Silver, Yellow and Black illuminated the room as the Quidditch match was today. The Great Hall gave a beautiful atmosphere with snow slowly falling down before disappearing above students' heads.

"It's beautiful," said Tessa looking up at the ceiling.

"So are you," Tessa blushed as Fred sat down next to her with a small box in his hand. Tessa blushed to a shade of red that matched the peppermint candy surrounding the table. Ginny winked at Tessa across the table.

"Me and Tessa are actually going to save same seats," said Ginny as she and Tessa gathered their things and left. She turned to see a small shade of pink color Fred's face before he composed himself.

"Better save a seat for us", bellowed the twins in unison.

"We'll see if we can scratch you in," said Tessa and winked at Fred before turning back to Ginny who looked like a proud teacher at her students' success.

"Ginny does know a thing or two," thought Tessa at the young witch.

The pitch was beautifully laid with a thick patch of snow that one could barely see the bordered white lines on the grass, or even the grass for that matter. Thankfully, Tessa and Ginny were able to get middle seats for almost everyone that requested it since Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in the same section.

"It's good to know you sometimes Harry," said Tessa as they both laughed at the first years creating a path for seats that Harry requested to be open for his friends. Ginny blushed as Harry began talking to her about classes, and moved back to where his own seat was behind Tessa.

"So, when are you going to master that one," said Tessa jokingly at Ginny.

"Oh, shut it," mumbled Ginny elbowing Tessa away.

Tessa had a seat for Fred and George on either side of her and seats for everyone else in front of them. Ginny moved back to sit with Hermione as her brothers came into view.

"Brought you this," said Fred to Tessa before she said her hellos to Lee and a very annoyed Angelina as they filled the last seats that were open.

"Yeah sorry for the delay; Fred decided to go get HIS scarf and an extra hat for Tessa as it would be too cold for her," muttered George to the lot behind him.

"Oh, so he'll get Tessa something, but not for his own sister," said Ginny jokingly.

"Or for his own brother for that matter," mumbled Ron.

"Honestly Ron you can take care of yourself," said Hermione hoping to get off the subject before Fred heard them talking.

"At least he's making progress," whispered Ginny to Tessa before leaning back into her seat.

If the wind had not kept Tessa's face red from the bitter cold, it would have been for Fred touching her back constantly every time he spoke to her. Even in layers upon layers of clothes, Tessa could feel this tingly sensation of his hands that gave her chills.

"Finally," she thought to herself. "It just feels right."

Tessa was watching Fred as he excitedly talk to Wood about the chances of Ravenclaw winning and who would get the snitch first. His arm began slowly wrapping around her the more he talked until it was at her waist.

"It looks like we might be in the running for House Cup," said Wood with a smirk on his face. As turned to end his speech to the team in the stands.

"Practice tomorrow bright and early," said Wood as he dismissed the team. Everyone stood up and met the rest of the students waiting for them. The students paired off to their respective groups, once out of the pitch, and walked towards the castle. Tessa walked rather closely to Ginny who had a slight, yet firm, grip on her arm and dragging her towards the Herbology building.

"What are you doing Ginny? Ow! Let go", remarked Tessa after she, for the fourth time, tripped over a vine leaking out of the slight opening of the Herbology building.

"Finally," said Ginny as she looked over the side of the building. "We're alone. Now, I would like to invite you to visit us for the Holidays."

Tessa's face grew more and confused and Ginny rolled her eyes once Tessa's head tilted sideways slightly instead answering her question.

"Will. You. Go—." "Yes! Yes, I will go, but I always show up after Christmas day." Ginny shook her head.

"I mean the whole Holiday. I owled Mum last week, and she is very excited to have someone other than us for the Holidays. It'll be fun," said Ginny with a very obvious smirk on her face.

"Alright, sounds fun. I was actually going to stay here anyways since Mum and Dad are dealing with International work. Apparently, a tourist walked up onto a non-muggle historical site, and the Witches and wizards doing research there flipped out. Father has to put a new spell on the area so it won't happen again, and Mum has to deal with the Press. You know how that is," said Tessa shrugging.

"Excellent," said Ginny as she looped her arm through Tessa's and steered her towards the castle.

The Common Room calmed down as people started heading out to walk around the castle. Tessa could see Fred from the entrance of the doorway as he stood up to meet her.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to do something interesting this evening," said Fred.

"You know I never pass up an interesting journey Weasley," said Tessa with a smirk on her face. Ginny said her Goodbyes to both as they walked out of the portrait.

"So, may I ask where we are going?" Tessa smiled up at Fred. She really only needed to tilt her head slightly, but it was nice to be with someone who was taller than her.

"To the Astronomy Tower," said Fred confidently.

Once they reached the tower, they could see everyone weaving and mingling through the windows of the illuminated towers and halls. Fred shuffled for the tiny objects he stowed away in his pocket quickly as Tessa jogged over to the railing and leaned over the side.

"It's beautiful," said Tessa gazing at the view that reached the mountains at the end of the lake. "If you rode this it would be even better."

Tessa whirled around to see her and Fred's broomstick in both of Fred's hands. "Seriously!" exclaimed Tessa as she yanked her broom from Fred's left hand and immediately straddled the broomstick. Fred smiled and did the same. Both brooms steadily rose high enough to where Tessa and Fred could raise their arms up and touch the ceiling. Fred zoomed out of the tower and into darkness. Tessa was right behind him. He spiraled around the tower and made it to the top.

Once at the top there was a nook that could fit, at the least, ten people facing toward the lake and full moon. "Hermione said that this balcony moves with the stars," said Fred as he pulled a tiny square out of his pocket. With a flick of his wrist the box expanded into a very large basket with a sealed lid over the top.

Fred placed the box on the ground against the wall and began pulling out a blanket and some pillows. For winter, it was actually a descent night. The storm passed through and gave a rare sight of clear sky that was illuminated by a very bright and big moon rising just above the peak of the mountains. Tessa turned around after looking at the view and helped Fred lay the blanket down.

"Thankfully it's not too windy," said Tessa as Fred sat down and patted on the blanket next to him. Once comfortable, Tessa notice how cushioned the blanket was while getting comfortable.

"Wood let me borrow it," said Fred smiling broadly.

"Perfect for sitting on while stargazing," replied Tessa nudging Fred. Thankfully it was only after dinner when Fred took her up; they would be able to stay longer before Professors decided to make their rounds for the night.

"Thank you," said Tessa after a long moment of silence.

"Finally," exclaimed Hermione as she pushed past to reach Tessa and Fred who thought they snuck in without anyone noticing. "It's nearly past curfew."

"Relax," said Fred. He smiled as Hermione's red face grew to a shade of purple. "

If a Professor had found you-,"

"We're fine, never again," said Tessa re-assuring the distraught witch. Hermione huffed and walked back to a table filled with books knowing that Tessa's statement was not going to be upheld. Once Hermione's head ducked under the stacks books, Fred and Tessa began to muffle each other's snickering and started walking over to Lee and George to discuss projects before they left for the Holidays.


	7. The Holiday Break

The Great Hall was filled with students for breakfast. "You sure you guys want to stay," said Ginny to Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"Yeah, it'll be safer," replied Harry.

"And we don't want Harry to spend the Holidays alone," said Ron as Hermione nodded in agreement. Tessa smiled to herself as passed the group and walked over to Fred and George.

"Everything is packed away," said Tessa as she sat down.

"Great," said Fred.

"Mum, would never look into your case. She thinks you keep us at bay," said George winking at Tessa.

"If only she knew," said Tessa jokingly.

The train ride back was interesting. Girls kept peeking into their compartment for a sight if Fred and Tessa were actually together, but Lee was the only one excited over the attention.

"Never had this many women looking in," said Lee excitedly.

"Yeah and it's all for you Lee," said George sarcastically as he lifted a journal and wizard's chess from his pack.

"Knight to B3," mumbled Tessa. She wasn't great at wizard's chess, and this was the fourth game she played with George with high chances of losing…again. To the right of her were Lee and Fred muttering last minute ideas before they parted ways at King's Crossing for the next few weeks.

"Checkmate," said George confidently.

"Why do I have to play again this is getting ridiculous. Can't you pick Fred or Lee to play", said Tessa after a quick win again for George.

"Because it's more fun watching you lose at something," said Fred as he looked up from his notes on a creme-puff recipe mixed in with various potions.

Tessa mumbled a few words back that made Lee and George laugh loud enough to have a few first years try and sneak a peak of what was happening from their compartment.

"Can we play something else please," said Tessa innocently. George sighed and gave in after a long silence and pulled out snap bang playing cards.

"Ohhhhh," yelled Tessa, George, and Lee as Fred nearly got his eyebrows singed from a card bursting into flames.

"Look!," exclaimed Lee as the sun was setting with a beautiful view of London's cityscape.

"We're all going to live there someday," exclaimed Fred while smiling at the vastness of buildings.

"I just hope I have a radio job anywhere," replied Lee. George laughed an nudged Lee to scoot over so everyone could pack up their things.

The Hogwarts Express slowed to a stop as it reached its destination. Students were chattering excitedly at seeing their parents outside.

"Better get a move on. She's looking too eager," said George as all four walked out of the compartment. Once they stepped off the train, a very happy Molly Weasley quickly moved herself through the crowd and greeted Ginny first.

"Oh my boys," said Molly with a sigh of relief as she hugged the both of the twins.

"Great to see you Tessa dear," said Mrs. Weasley as she hugged Tessa last. "You'll be staying with Ginny for the Holidays, unless you'd—"

"—The Holidays?" Both of the twins said in unison.

They looked at their mother and Tessa with shock and confusion. "Well if you actually read my letters you would have known," stated Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"But, mum," said Fred walking after Mrs. Weasley leaving Tessa in annoyance with an excited George talking about new projects they could get done with Tessa around distracting their mother.

Fred sat quietly in Eeylops as Tessa, George, and Ginny looked at the cats while Percy and his Mother went to Gringotts.

"Look at this one," said Ginny to a Blue, short hair, and big-eyed Scottish fold kitten with chubby little legs. George poked his finger towards the cage and the cat spat and lunged forwards nearly loosing balance from his large head.

"Nope," said Tessa as George steered her away from the agitated cat. Fred rolled his eyes and got up to from his makeshift seat by the entrance and walked down a section filled with popular muggle pets. "

Fred?" Tessa walked down the aisle and stood next to him.

"Trying to look for a real guinea pig now I see," said Tessa.

"No, still using you," said Fred with a faint smile. She reached for his hand and began pulling him back towards the group. Fred only glanced at Tessa and slightly pulled his hand from her grasp. Tessa rolled her eyes and walked away.

"He's not too keen on me staying with you guys," said Tessa to George.

"He'll get over it soon," said George quietly when he saw Tessa's annoyed face once she rounded the corner.

"Yeah, but he blames me for not saying anything," said Tessa.

"Technically, it's all three of you guys' fault," interjected Ginny as Tessa and George walked passed the aisle she was in. Tessa stuck her tongue out while George made a face and both continued towards the end of the store farthest away from Fred.

"It would have been better to know beforehand, but maybe it was for the best that it was unexpected," said George quietly. "What do you think of this cat."

George pointed towards the shopkeeper's grumpy old cat sitting in the window seal. It growled at George and leaped off the window towards the front desk. Tessa laughed quietly and pushed George into the last aisle of the shop.

They both reached the end where the shopkeeper's apprentice was cleaning a few cages. They talked quietly about each animal they walked passed until they heard a slight mew. Tessa and George turned their head sharply to the right to see a solid black cat with a small white "U" slightly above the cat's bright green eyes.

"You," said Tessa as she opened the cage. The cat immediately jumped out and into her arms.

"You are the only person she has done that to," said a surprised apprentice of the shop.

"How much?," Exclaimed George as they walked to the front of the store with the loud purring of the cat in Tessa's arms.

"5 galleons," said the apprentice as Tessa gave the cat to Ginny who excitedly approached the front desk after seeing the lump of fur in Tessa's arms.

"She's cute," said Fred as he scratched underneath the cats' chin.

"Yeah literally jumped out of the cage to us," said George.

"Another good thing is that she's almost a year old, so she's trained and everything," said Tessa after talking to the apprentice who was gathering pet supplies for her. Fred rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, the guy nearly tripped over the counter to help you," said Fred with annoyance.

"That's his job Fred," said Ginny with a laugh.

"Yeah, but it's not his job to leave the store," said George while winking at Tessa and Ginny.

"And help hold your things to your next destination," said Fred with annoyance.

"He's just being nice," said Tessa trying not to laugh at Fred's jealousy.

"Molly and Percy were bickering about something when the group finally came into their view.

"Oh, hello dears, we've already got what we need. Ginny I see you have something new?" Mrs. Weasley bustled over to her daughter to look at the sleeping cat cradled into Ginny's arms.

"Tessa finally got a cat," said Ginny looking down at the kitten.

"She's gorgeous," said Mrs. Weasley while scratching the cats' tummy.

"Have you named her yet?" Tessa shuffled her feet.

"Uh, no; I don't really know her personality yet," said Tessa blushing.

"Always good to know how they are first before making decisions," said Percy confidently as the group began walking to a public chimney.

The cat leaped out of Ginny's arms and scrambled through the house after she walked out onto her parents' living room floor.

"Sorry kitten," bellowed Ginny as it made its way to hide underneath Mrs. Weasley's rocking chair. After all of the Weasleys and Tessa made it through the fireplace, the cat finally sauntered out and nestled itself onto the window next to the back door.

"See; she's fine mum," said George pointing at the cat. The voices from the living room faded out as Tessa climbed the stairs after Fred. Fred tried to shut his door and Tessa ran with her arm stretched. She pushed the door open and slowed to a stop in the middle of the twins' room.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to be here?" Asked Fred loudly while walking towards Tessa.

"I thought you already knew," said Tessa defensively.

"You didn't bring up how excited you were or anything at all. Did it not occur to you that me and George never brought it up," exclaimed Fred.

"Why would it occur to me? It didn't seem like it was important to bring up how excited I am to hang out over the holidays because we always hang out," said Tessa visibly annoyed.

"All you had to say was 'oh by that way I'm staying at the house over the Holidays'. It's not that hard," said Fred sternly.

"Well, if you didn't want me here Weasley, you could've said it while in Diagon Alley. I would've gone home," said Tessa shakily as she walked out of the twins' room.

Tessa walked back downstairs quietly as Mrs. Weasley was cooking dinner by the backdoor.

"Can we go, Please?" Tessa whispered into George's ear as she walked towards the front door. George put down Tessa's cat and followed her outside.

"Still mad I see?" said George. Tessa sighed and shook her head.

"I don't want to talk about it," replied Tessa as she walked towards the path that led to the village.

The town was bustling with locals and tourists going into shop after shop. Tessa stopped in front of a homey coffee shop and opened the door to go in. It was surprisingly large, due to it connecting to the bookstore next door. George walked over to a secluded corner next to the window that showed the main street and shops.

"Two chai lattes, please," said Tessa to the barrister at the register. Once she was given both of their drinks she walked over to George.

George nodded his head after taking a sip.

"Good job," he said as he sat the cup down and picked up the local paper that was left on the table from a previous tenant.

"I thought you guys knew. That's why I didn't bring it up; I just, I—," George interrupted Tessa,

"—It's fine. I honestly wasn't expecting you to spend time with us over Holidays, but I think Fred is taking it worse. Just give 'em some space." Tessa nodded her head and looked at the muggles walking across the streets and weaving through buildings one after the other.

"Why?" Tessa asked after a moment of silence.

"For once, I don't know," said George looking out the window.

George and Tessa followed the crowd aimlessly as they walked from shop to shop. Tessa bought Hermione a few books and would owl them to her as soon as she could to Hogwarts, and George carried some supplies his mother asked for since they were going into town.

"We should be heading back," implied George as the temperature was significantly colder and the lights in the stores slowly began to turn off.

George held open the door for Tessa, to the Burrow, and she set their bags down by the sofa. Tessa's new cat immediately jumped down from the window sauntered over to the new items that took up space in the house.

"Nosy cat that one is." Tessa turned to see Fred walking towards her from the staircase. Before she could say anything he hugged her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and let go of her.

"It's okay. We can talk about it later," Tessa replied as they both turned to see her cat rolling in a paper sack after she pawed out the little trinkets that were inside. "Nyx," said Tessa. "Let's call her Nyx."

After dinner Tessa walked outside with Fred.

"The stars are pretty," said Tessa as she looked up at the night sky. The clouds broke as both George and Tessa walked back to the Burrow which left a beautiful night laid out before them.

"If you didn't want me here you could've said so," said Tessa not looking a Fred.

"You would've been alone," said Fred as he looked down at his feet.

"I have my cat. I would've been fine", Tessa finally looked at Fred.

Tessa smiled slightly that made Fred's stomach hurt.

"She's still sad about it," thought Fred. "I didn't mean for it to be like this."

She looked away from him when he didn't respond. Her smile dropped and she looked at the grass blowing between their feet.

"I understand that you didn't want me here. It is odd that we'll see each other constantly until Summer holiday gets here. Honestly, I didn't think about that; I just saw it as an opportunity to see your family, but you saw it as a burden," said Tessa quietly. Fred looked down at the grass too. "To be honest, you would have been fine. I mean, since we were on that tower things changed slightly with you. Like it's something you want, but you're forcing it in so much that now you're just angry about it." Fred looked down.

"I don't know what to say," said Fred as she turned to him.

Fred sat outside a bit longer after Tessa said Goodnight. He still stared at the ground below his feet still processing what just happened.

"Hey, you coming in?" Fred jumped slightly seeing Ginny's face as his level hanging out of her window.

"Uh yeah," said Fred. "How do you feel?" Ginny asked staring at her brother with slight concern.

"I feel everything," said Fred walking back towards the back door of the house.

"Come on Percy," said George with annoyance as he tried to get into the bathroom that all of the boys shared.

"You can wait," replied Percy harshly.

"Looks like Percy is grooming himself for no one," said George to Nyx while she tried to push her paw underneath the door. He picked up the cat and walked downstairs to Ginny's room.

"Happy Christmas!" Tessa yelled at George as she shoved a box towards him. Two colorful boxes with tissue and ribbon were laid open on Ginny's bedroom floor. He dropped the cat onto Ginny's dresser and picked up the hefty package. He opened it to find various items that he needed. From new Quidditch equipment to potion supplies, George was stocked on all extra-curricular activities that needed repair and replenishment for next semester.

"I told my parents about you guys wanting to start a business, and they sent you some supplies," said Tessa smiling broadly.

"We need to keep them in her suitcase though," said Fred sitting behind Tessa. He was holding a book that said candy in bold letters on the spine.

"Mum got you a book as well. Should be at the bottom," said Tessa. He pushed aside the tissue to see a muggle book with advice on how to maintain a business.

"Tell your mum we appreciate it," said George as he sat the empty box on the dresser for Rosie to climb in.

The clinging of plates and joyful chatter gave the Burrow a homey atmosphere, even more so than it already was. Fred, Tessa, George, and Ginny sat near the end table waiting for breakfast to be over so they could go outside.

"I hope we can go into town. It's much more fun on Christmas. No one's around. Fred actually flew down Main Street after getting a broom from mum and dad for Christmas a few years ago," said Ginny whispering excitedly.

"Oh yeah," said Tessa remembering the twins telling her the story on the train ride back to Hogwarts.

Tessa put on the new sweater Mrs. Weasley made her with a black cat on the front and grabbed an old broom from the shed.

"Alright we have about two hours of time before Mum comes looking for us," said Ginny.

"So town first," said Tessa as she reached for some goggles and gloves.

"Yes," said twins in unison who were already outside and walking towards the path that lead to the tiny village.

The village was a ghost town. Every store had been closed for the day and no one, but the four were walking in the streets.

"Perfect," said Tessa as she ran through the streets without the worry of a car flying past. Fred chased after her while Ginny and George walked through the street together.

"How long do you think this will last," said George jokingly.

"Long enough for someone else to step in," said Ginny smiling at her brother who smiled back. Once across they notice Fred lifting Tessa towards a ladder, on the side of a building in an alley, which was high enough to not be reached without assistance.

"What are you doing?" said Ginny quietly.

"Going to the top," said Tessa with a grunt. She reached the ladder and pulled it down enough for George to reach for it. Fred, with Tessa, stepped back enough for his brother to reach the ladder. Tessa reach for the bars as Fred let go of her and she went up first. She reached the top of the building with Ginny next.

"Wow," said Ginny as she looked at the vastness of field a few streets away and the many buildings in front of her where the Main Street was below them.

Tessa sat on the side of the building with one leg hanging off as Fred and George reached the top.

"Took you long enough," said Ginny.

"Just some extra precautions to us being alone," said George as he sat next to Tessa with both legs hanging off the side of the building.

"Someone will see you," said Ginny laughing as Fred balancing on the edge of the building while walking back and forth.

"We'll be fine," said all three in unison in response to Ginny. They were used to this back in London when they would take walks through town with Tessa, if they were able to visit her for more than a weekend.

Fred hopped off the railing and walked over to the other side of the building. There was a small enough gap between the two that one could, with a running start, jump to the building without any fear. So Fred did just that. He leaped with full force to the next building and landed softly on the rocky roof.

"Nice one," said George who decided to go next and landed to the left of his brother. Ginny and Tessa followed suit and jumped at the same time. Fred put him arm around Tessa as they walked to the edge of the building they were one.

"Oh no," said Ginny as she reached the edge first and back away quickly. "It's probably time to go." She turned and briskly walked towards the back of the building where there was a fire exit leading to the back alley.

All four reached the bottom as Fred's feet touched the ground last. "That older witch who lives in town, she was the one the street below," said Ginny between puffs of air.

"We'll be fine," said George patting his sister on the back.

"She probably couldn't even see us from that far of range," said Fred jokingly.

"It's time to head back anyways," said Tessa as she looked at the time from the muggle watch on her wrist.

"Hope you like cold pie", said Mrs. Weasley grumpily as the dessert cooled by the time everyone was ready to eat it.

"It's still a great pie Mum," said Ginny with a mouthful of crust. All the children nodded in agreement as they stood up to grab more tiny cakes and go their separate ways.

"Today was fun," said Tessa to Fred and George as they walked towards the twins' room.

"Yes it was," said George.

"Now, it's time for business," said Fed smiling at his brother.

Books were strewn across the floor with parchment between pages and notes scribbled on the ones set off to the side still drying off. Tessa sat in a corner staring over a muggle notebook with colored pencils beside her. Her sketches were filled with differently colored labels and notes that matched the color of a box or jar in the middle of the words.

"How's it coming," whispered Fred. He laid his head on her shoulder and looked at her sketches.

"Going well," said Tessa trying to draw without elbowing a tired George to her left.

"Don't like the color," mumbled George after he heard his brother talking.

"Doesn't matter if you like the color," said Tessa nudging him.

"Constructive criticism," said Fred and George in unison.

"It's getting late anyway. Don't want your mum to walk in and see me here in the morning," said Tessa straightening up to stretch her arms and legs. Nyx, who was laying at Tessa's feet stretched across the two beds that were pushed together and refusing to move away from her owners toes. Tessa nudged her slightly and the kitten still refused to budge.

"She can stay with you lot then," said Tessa laughing quietly as she grabbed her things and walked out with Fred.

Both walked downstairs quietly as to not wake up Percy who would rat them out in a heartbeat, especially, if he saw Fred and Tessa together. She walked passed the clock to put away a few dishes and cups to see it was nearly 4 in the morning.

"The time flew away from us I guess," said Tessa as she turned to Fred.

"Yeah it did," Fred said quietly. He stood there staring at her waiting for something, anything.

"Well I'll see you in a few," said Tessa who reached forward to hug Fred. She let go after a few seconds and turned towards Ginny's door. Once, the door shut she leaned against it as she heard Fred slowly make his way back up the stairs.

"This is going well," though Tessa sarcastically as she desperately wanted to run back and hold him again.

The next morning Fred woke up to a bang at his door hitting the wall. Rosie jumped off his headboard and landed on his stomach with force that should not have come out of a kitten her size. He gasped for air as he heard his mother yelling at both of the twins, George first.

"HOW DARE YOU TAKE THOSE GIRLS OUT ON SOMETHING SO DANGEROUS. YOU'RE LUCKY MRS. PADMOORE OWLED ME THIS MORNING, INSTEAD OF LAST NIGHT, OR, SO HELP ME, YOU TWO WOULD HAVE GONE WITHOUT THOSE TWO HELPINGS OF DESSERTS. I SAW YOU GO DOWNSTAIRS AND COME BACK UP WITH A PLATE FULL OF MY PIES, FRED WEASLEY, SO DON'T YOU DARE THINK YOU'LL BE GETTING ANY DESSERT TONIGHT."

Both boys were shooed out of their rooms and downstairs to have another earful, but Fred wasn't really listening, both of them for that matter.

"We're sorry mum," they said in unison.

"Well, now that this has been settled you will only have a portion of snacks for the train, and I hope you have saved up on your allowances for it has been revoked, until further notice," said Mrs. Weasley as she reached the living room where Tessa and Ginny were stuffing the treacherous letter from Mrs. Padmoore into the patched up sofa crease of the love seat.

There was also a conspicuous red and white paper shreds all over the table and Tessa's lap.

"Probably from her parents", whispered George to Fred as they were thrown two packs, which matched Tessa and Ginny's, and a list from their mother.

"Now since you four love that town so much, it's time to go get supplies for tonight, and tomorrow," Mrs. Weasley finished firmly as all four stared at her in shock.

"But Mum—," said the twins in unison. "Not buts; you'll be lucky if you get back to Hogwarts with your brooms, for Quidditch, if you keep this up!"

The only sound emitting from the four outside of the Burrow were their shoes sloshing in the mud.

"Well it could've been worse," said Tessa as they reached a safe distance away from the Burrow.

"Yeah," said all the Weasleys smiling. After an hour of talking and laughing about this morning's antics, they finally reached the paved road that was marked with the village's limits on a small wooden sign.

"Finally," said the twins in unison as they saw the thatched roofs of town's homes. The town was bustling with people again returning duplicated presents or shopping for food that ran out after yesterday's festivities.

Tessa and Ginny split up from the twins to get their items on their list as the town grew larger the closer they walked to it.

"See you," yelled Tessa as Fred waved goodbye.

"So, are you two going to get together or not?," Ginny asked immediately. Tessa's stomach lurched into her chest.

"I…It wasn't the same since we left Hogwarts. I mean even physical things were going well and then it immediately went to shit once he found out I would be here." Tessa's façade of optimism and joy was gone. She looked tired and worn out.

"It's for the best I suppose," said Ginny. "I still think you should have waited to see how things would go at Hogwarts." Ginny paused for moment and Tessa looked at her eagerly.

"What," said Tessa with a defensive tone.

"You always run when you think things are getting tough. I mean, look at how you and Cedric turned out. He said one wrong thing on accident, and suddenly you break it off." Ginny let in a huge breathe of cold air and sighed.

"I think you're right. It is my fault," said Tessa as she stared at the Muggles weaving in and out of stores.

"It just isn't the right time," said George to his pessimistic brother. Fred moped around the small market picking out ingredients that was on his mother's list. "You shouldn't have forced it you know."

Fred glared at his brother who moved on to the next aisle.

"I know it's my fault, but do you have to talk about it right now," said Fred. George just nodded, and moved on to another aisle filled with sugar and flour.

"It's too late to fix things now just got to give it time," said George over his shoulder after picking up the last thing on the list for the super market.

With their sacks filled with ingredients all four walked towards the post office. The twins turned the corner and Fred stopped in his tracks. Across the road Cedric Diggory was holding the girl's bags while helping them cross the road.

"Fuckin' hell," mumbled the twins in unison as they waited for Cedric to say his goodbyes. Ginny waved more affably than Tessa which gave Fred some satisfaction.

"It's like he knows when she's around," said George. Fred mumbled in agreement and nodded his head. Tessa waved to them both very excitedly, and walked towards them.

"Hey," said Tessa excitedly as she pointed to the extra bag she was carrying.

Fred and George couldn't help, but smile the whole way back. The sack had every supply they could ever need for next year's projects.

"Merry Christmas," Tessa said happily as she handed the bag over to them. They split the ingredients evenly and stuffed them at the bottom of their sacks.

"Much appreciated," said the twins in unison as they turned onto the muddy road.

The walk back was dismal as they struggled more with the weight on their backs than they did with the silence that was obviously weighing over all four of them.

"There you are," said Charlie as he walked out of the shed.

"Here we are," said Tessa as she handed the bag to him.

"Mum's in a better mood so, you guys should be in the clear by the time the train leaves in a few days," he said as he grabbed Ginny's bag as well.

The next few days did fly by with ease as Mrs. Weasely did lighten up on the four.

"Hurry up! Got a busy day tomorrow," said Molly as all the kids made the finishing touched on packing for the train ride tomorrow.

"We're fine mum," said George as he kept dodging his mother's advances towards the twin's bags.

"We don't need help. We're big boys; unlike Percy." Mumbled Fred as Arthur was helping Percy with all of his bags down the stairs.

"Be careful Father that one has gifts in it," snapped Percy as his Father threw the bag down next to the fireplace. Ginny and Tessa muffled their laughs and walked passed with Tessa's cat and toys in cages and boxes.

"Alright looks like everyone is ready for tomorrow," said Mrs. Weasley as she poured Floo Powder into each of the children's hands. "You first, Tessa."

Tessa pushed her way through the Weasley Family gathered in the living room and stood in the fireplace.

"Diagon Alley," said Tessa perfectly and threw the powder into the fireplace with force.


	8. Broken Barriers

The train slowly left King's Crossing as all of the parents and children waved Goodbye. Tessa leaned out the window with the first years and waved Goodbye to her parents who surprised her at the Leaky Cauldron.

"At least, you got to see your parents," said George who pulled Tessa back in.

"Yeah, it was nice staying in my own bed for one night. Nyx liked the house too," said Tessa while reaching for her cat at the top of the compartment.

"Your parents are nice," said Lee who had officially met them for the first time that morning.

"They are," said the twins in unison at the massive amount of snacks stuffed in Tessa's bag that her parents gave her for the train.

"The best parents," said Tessa quietly smiling out at the view of London.

The train ride felt like minutes compared to hours as it pulled into the station at Hogwarts. Tessa picked her head up from Lee's shoulder, who also fell asleep and chose to lay his head on the door.

"Evening sleepy heads," said Fred as he helped Tessa up to grab her bags. Nyx, still in Lee's lap, stretched her body and sauntered over to the empty, and warm, space that was recently vacated.

"No, no, no," said Tessa as she tried to grab the cat and put her in the cage Fred was holding.

"Here already?" asked Lee, who heard girls giggling at his state while they exited the train. George rolled his eyes and nudged his sleepy friend out of the way to leave as well.

The carriage was also quiet on the ride to the castle. Fred and Tessa didn't say much when Angelina asked questions about their Holidays and told them about hers.

"You guys are quiet," said Angelina once the carriage stopped at the entrance.

"Yeah, just sleepy," said Tessa as she leaped off the carriage first.

"Yeah. We'll feel better tomorrow," said Fred who followed suit and tried to catch up.

Tessa reached the Great Hall first and sat down with the Trio.

"Tess!" said the three in unison.

"Hey guys," said Tessa happily as she sat down next to them.

"Heard what happened over the Holidays," said Harry with a chuckle.

"Yeah, a bit nasty, since they didn't know apparently but we pulled through," said Tessa. Hermione whipped her head towards Tessa with such force you could hear a slight pop from her jaw cracking. Harry and Ron kept on greeting the students who filed in one by one as Tessa stared at her plate in shock and realization that Harry in fact meant the wrath of Mrs. Weasley and not Fred being a twat.

Once dinner was over, Hermione dragged Tessa to an empty bathroom.

"You and Fred—", said Hermione with shock and anticipation.

"—Yes," said Tessa interrupting the witch before she could say anything else.

"He wasn't too keen on me staying for the Holidays. I beginning to think that all that stuff he was doing over before we left Hogwarts was from Cedric, and jealousy," said Tessa slowly slumping towards the ground with the sadness setting in around her.

Hermione and Tessa were the last to reach the Common Room. Everyone greeted them with jovial banter and excitement to see them once again for the semester. Even Fred came to say hello to Hermione and gave her a big hug.

"Have you introduced your cat Tessa?" Asked Lee once she was in earshot.

"You got a cat?" Hermione asked excitedly as she looked through the cage that had yet to be opened. "Hermione meet Nyx; Nyx meet Hermione," said George as he opened the cage. Nyx leaped out and wove between Hermione's legs.

"She's a beaut," said Alicia as she picked her up and rubbed underneath the cat's chin.

It took a week for Rosie to settle into Hogwarts, and it took Tessa even longer to settle with the fact that she and Fred were over. Her grades rose since she rarely hung out with Fred outside of Quidditch practice and classes. She mostly stayed with Hermione in the Library and played wizard's chess with George during off time. When she did go to the Hall of Hexes to help them with projects, the twins and Lee were always in there with her, so it felt less personal for her when she was indeed in the same room as him.

"I don't understand," said Fred with annoyance after Lee and Tessa left the study room for a late class.

"You did it," said George stirring a potion three times before placing the crushed ingredients in his bowl to the cauldron.

"How so?" Fred asked with a defensive tone. "You made her think you liked her, and abruptly stopped during the Holidays. To anyone that's rejection," said George confidently as he began stirring the potion counterclockwise. Fred only glared at his brother and walked over to one of the windows to look over the Lake.

"Fred, stop!," yelled Tessa as he threw another snowball at her. She ran across the courtyard and tripped as Fred grabbed her waist picking her up over his shoulder.

"Atleast, their flirting again," said Ginny to Hermione who shook her head in agreement, but still looked at her book that laid in her lap.

"Oi!," yelled Harry as Tessa threw a snowball into his shoulder. Ginny laughed and ran out into the courtyard to join in on the fight that grew increasingly bigger than it was as Fred threw Tessa over his shoulder.

The Common Room was filled with laughter as everyone chatted away or played gamed by the fire. Fred, George, and Lee sat in a corner talking about a new potion they created that successfully didn't ooze out of the cauldron or look like a bubbling liquid of death. Tessa sat with her roommates playing muggle poker and gossiping about boys in their classes. The night flew by until it was forced to an end by Percy and the Head girl ushering everyone to bed.

"This night has been great," said Tessa to Angelina.

"Yeah hopefully tomorrow will be even better," Angelina replied as she blew the lights out while Katie and Alicia mumbled in agreement.

A loud bang opened the girl's dorm room. "Get up you four", said Headgirl as she scrambled to shut the door and help grab clothes.

"What's going on?" Said Angelina.

"I don't know, but it's urgent we must meet in the common room," said the girl visibly shaken. She left after all four had decent clothes on and skipped stairs to the next room with the exact inertia as before.

They heard her voice fade as they sauntered down the stairs calmly. All four entered a very empty common room with only Ron and Harry talking to Professor McGonagall.

"For once, I'm glad we sleep next to the Headgirl," whispered Tessa as the girls giggled reaching the end of the staircase.

"This is no laughing matter girls", said McGonagall.

"We weren't laughing at—,"

"I know Miss Thornhill, but now is not the time to make jokes about your superiors even if they are in the same year."

Fred and George with their roommates were next to reach the bottom of the stairs as they tried to hold it together after seeing Tessa get yelled at by the Head Master.

"Shut it," whispered Tessa as Fred reached her side. He winked at her and lightly grabbed her hand as the Common room slowly began to fill with students.

"Alright, is everyone here?" asked the Professor towards the Prefects.

"Yes, Head Master," said Percy with a firm hand on the Headgirls' back. "Alright we need to form a line and briskly, but calmly, walk to the Great Hall."

Once everyone reached the great staircase there was a loud brown noise that enveloped the castle. Everyone was murmuring and whispering about what was going on or what happened. They finally reached the Great Hall to see mattresses with blankets and pillows covering the Great Hall.

"You will be staying here tonight students," said the Head Master as did every other Headmaster in the Great Hall. Thankfully the teachers were too busy to notice or even begin to care with girls and boys sleeping next to one another. Tessa positioned herself between Fred and George while Angelina took the matt to George's right. Lee eagerly took the matt next to her. With a huff, Angelina rolled to face George for the rest of the night. Once the lights were blown out, the Great Hall filled with a swirling of stars and Galaxies. Fred rolled over quietly and reached for Tessa to come closer. Finding her waist he pulled her towards his body resting his chin on her neck.

"Night", he whispered in her ear. She barely uttered a sound and melted into his body as sleep began to envelope her.

Tessa woke to a low rumble of chatter from students who woke up to see the sunrise through the Great Hall windows. These students mostly consisted of Ravenclaws as they were taken notes and recording the view with non-magical cameras they were given by the muggle studies professor. Tessa rolled over to see George lying on his back with his half of his body on her matt as he sprawled across all the sleeping pads that surrounded him with at least one part of his body.

"Looks like he slept well."

Tessa looked down to see Harry sitting up and stretching his arms over his head.

"And it looks like you didn't," replied Tessa in a concerned tone.

"Just a hard floor is all," said Harry tightly. "Wanna go for breakfast?"

"Sure," Tessa replied with a slight smile on her face and proceed to follow Harry to the entrance of the Great Hall.

They both sat at the Grand staircase with steaming bowls of soup in their hands. Both Harry and Tessa sat, quietly, relishing in the joyous silence that would soon be interrupted.

"I always like sitting with you when things are…stressful," said Harry quietly as students started to grab bowls of soup for themselves.

"Good," said Tessa with a smile on her face. They both knew they had a silent acknowledgement that when one looked annoyed or stressed they only smiled at each other and sat together for a while, if asked.

The entrance of the Great Hall roared with laughter and chatter as students slowly let their worry go into the air as nothing happened for most of the morning.

"Oh there you are," said Hermione as she reached Tessa and Harry who were talking quietly with two empty bowls stacked between them.

"Nice seeing you Tess," said Harry as he got up to go with Hermione and Ron somewhere Tessa had no clue about.

"You and Harry are close."

Tessa looked to her right to see Angelina walk up the staircase and plopped down next to Tessa.

"Yeah," said Tessa nodding at Harry as he looked back towards Angelina and Tessa.

"The twins are looking for you," she stated lazily as Lee made his way to the staircase spotting his target.

"Tha—".

Before she could finish, Tessa turned her head and Angelina was gone. Tessa looked over to Lee who made his way towards the dungeons as he lost sight of her roommate. She laughed to herself, got up, and walked up the stairs towards the Hall of Hexes.

"Bout time you showed up," said Fred as he walked passed the door with a pile of book in his arms.

He winked at Tessa and walked over to a desk positioned at a, very rarely used, part of the study room and dropped the books onto a dust covered desk. Smoke and dirt filled the air from the unsettled particles which surrounded the books and Fred himself. He merely waved away the dust as Tessa turned to George and looked at the cauldron in his hands.

"Skipped breakfast to finish this," said George, as he poured the concoctions onto silicone sheets from the kitchens.

"Elves were kind enough to let us borrow this," said Fred.

"They adore us," finished the twins in unison.

"I'm sure they do," muttered Tessa, sarcastically to herself, as she picked up some clean sheets and began copying notes from the books on the more used desk to the right of the room. Fred sat next to her and organize the books in the order both the twins wanted Tessa to scan through.

"Lee's late," muttered Fred reading the notes as Tessa set them aside. Tessa sharply lifted her head up and put her quill down.

"He went into the dungeons," said Tessa wide eyed remembering the last time she saw him. The room became deathly silent as papers stopped being shuffled and candy stopped being thrown on the sheet in frustration.

"Bloody Hell," all three said in unison at the realization of what happened to their partner.


	9. Lost and Found

Six pairs of feet, rhythmically running together, devoured the silence of the Hallway. Once they reached the Grand Staircase there were more students filing in and out of study rooms, so Tessa, Fred, and George slowed their pace to a brisk walk.

"Hold it you three." A seventh year came jogging into view from the hallway they just ran through.

"Damn," said Tessa quietly as he reached them trying to catch his breath.

"What are you doing you know this is temporarily a restricted section of the school until further notice from the Head Master.

"Well we can't go outside," said Fred.

"So we've decided to exercise inside," said George sarcastically.

"Now that Sirius Black is on the loose we need to keep ourselves fit so we can be the first ones to reach safety," said Fred with a smirk. The seventh year looked shocked and began sputtering more questions at the twins who quickly answered his questions without flinching. Tessa slowly edged away from the twins' side and made her towards the staircase. Tessa could hear their voices slowly fading as she reached the bottom. She walked towards the dungeons as she eased her way through the crowd and around professors without being noticed.

The dungeons were eerily silent, once Tessa reached the bottom of the stairs, and she welcomed it graciously. She quietly walked past each classroom and supply closet quietly with no luck of hearing a student being scolded.

"That's strange I would've heard Snape by now," said Tessa quietly to herself. A door to Tessa right opened and she froze in the middle of the hallway.

"Well, Well." Tessa whipped around to see a tall and muscular student walking out of the Slytherin Common Room entrance.

"I'm actually impressed to see a lion wondering around a snake's den." The door shut and Marcus Flint walked into view. Tessa's heart began to flutter, and it wasn't romantically.

"If you're looking for Snape he's with Finch," said Marcus as he motioned Tessa to follow him. She looked at his back with shock as slowly put her wand back into her robes.

"Are you comin' or not," said Flint rudely looking at the door to his Common Room and back at Tessa. She nodded quickly and followed him back towards the entrance of the dungeons.

Silence still enveloped the air as they slowly walked towards the staircase.

"Thanks," said Tessa quietly as she finally calmed herself. Flint grunted in response and slowed his pace until they walked side by side. Once they reached the staircase Flint stopped abruptly.

"I didn't help you do you understand," said Marcus glaring at Tessa.

"Understood," she said confidently.

"Keep your distance," replied Marcus as he walked passed Tessa and up the staircase.

The crowd of students grew bigger in the great hall entrance as lunch was starting soon. No one really left the area anyways, but it was nice to have more people together in one space to hide the fact that a Slytherin was helping a Gryffindor. Marcus slowed down as the volume of people grew thicker. Tessa was so close to him that she became squished against his back at one point as it was getting harder to move for the both of them.

"He actually doesn't smell bad," she thought to herself. She must've been too close for too long because he elbowed her away and looked back her.

"My apologies," said Tessa after she noticed a few Ravenclaw's giggling at the at the encounter. Marcus rolled his eyes in response and pushed a few first years out of his way.

"I have to think of another route," thought Tessa as she walked towards the center of the crowd, after noticing more than a few Slytherinsh also watching her and Marcus.

Even though Tessa was tall enough to still see Marcus she wasn't really going anywhere at the moment. She was at the center of the hallway and no one was moving. Tessa sighed and began making small talk with the students around her. This helped her progress greatly as when she asked the group she was talking to let her through they happily agreed and she slowly, but surely, reached the entrance that would lead her to the grand staircase.

"Shit," said Tessa quietly she looked around for Flint. He was gone.

"I knew I shouldn't have followed him," though Tessa angrily as she marched towards the dark hallway she and George used the first night at Hogwarts. Before she could go further down a pair of hands firmly grabbed her. For once, Tessa was actually relieved to have Marcus Flint yanking her back towards the Great Hall.

"Go up the stairs," he said and pushed out of the hallway.

"Alright," said Tessa annoyed and walked towards the magical stairs she reach the second floor when the staircase she was on abruptly began to move the left. She turned to see Marcus right behind her with a smug grin on his face. She glared at him and pulled her skirt down past the back of her knee.

Once they were out of sight from any students again, Marcus stood on the step Tessa was on.

"You know," said Tessa. "You don't smell like a dirty Slytherin."

Marcus smirked slightly. "Shut up," he said still smiling.

"Also," said Tessa once they reach the top of the stairs and walked down a sun-lit hallway. "You're teeth they look straight."

Marcus walked beside her again after letting Tessa get off the stairs first.

"Yeah. I got into a scuffle over Holiday knocked a couple of me teeth out, and let a Nurse do the rest. Would you tell her to keep making your teeth crooked?" Marcus looked at Tessa smiling.

"No," responded Tessa, smirking at his response, as they walked down the hall.

They reached a hallway where Mrs. Norris sat on an empty pedestal.

"Hate that fuckin' cat," said Marcus glaring towards it. Mrs. Norris hissed at them both and leaped off of her perch.

"For once, we can actually agree on something," said Tessa.

"Think we could agree on a lot of things," thought Marcus side eyeing Tessa. He shook his head and pushed past her.

"I'm only helping because I'm going to see Snape alright," said Marcus impatiently behind him. Tessa sighed and walked behind him again. They reached a door where Tessa could hear Filch shouting.

"At your friend no doubt," said Marcus with a smile. "Might get points taken," said Marcus with laugh.

"Whatever," said Tessa glaring at him.

"Just because you are surprisingly decent compared to other Gryffindors doesn't mean I won't hide my satisfaction," said Marcus leaning against the wall. Tessa looked at him with surprise. "I remember when you were getting sorted; you almost went into Slytherin." Tessa actually blushed with his statement. She is standing with the guy she obliviated, not even, a few weeks ago because she knew she would be closer to finding Lee, even if it was against her instincts to do so.

Marcus banging on the door jolted her out of her thoughts. She stepped back away from the doorway as it opened.

"Mr. Flint," said Snape calmly as he opened the door.

"Miss Thornhill," said Snape again, but more sternly. "I take it you were found in the dungeons as well."

Marcus immediately shook his head. "She was looking for Lee, but in the Great Hall. I overheard her and thought it would be a good charity to help her," said Marcus. Tessa glared at the back of his head.

"Very well. You're lucky I believe Mr. Flint as you are one of my best students, Miss Thornhill," said Snape lazily. "Fifty points to Slytherin."

Tessa glared at Snape for the unreasonable amount of points given. "That's ridiculous!" Lee shouted as he made his way to the door.

"And another Fifty points from Gryffindor," snapped Snape in response. Lee walked out of Filch's office. "Not so fast Jordan. Your detention starts today. We will be heading to my supply closet immediately since you like being in there so much. Mr. Flint, escort Miss Thornhill to the Great Hall," said Snape eyeing Tessa before turning around.

Tessa waved Goodbye as Marcus grabbed her elbow and led her back towards the staircase. Marcus and Tessa walked down the hall side by side again. After his little stunt with Snape she reverted back to not wanting to make conversation, but he was the exact opposite.

"So, what are your plans for the day," said Marcus happily.

"I'm sure you are happy after what you did," thought Tessa annoyingly. She glared at him in response.

"Oh, come on," said Marcus laughing.

"I might go see Hermione," said Tessa with a fake smile.

"Oh," said Marcus. "Going to study then?" Hearing Hermione's name didn't faze him.

"No, going to check out some muggle artefacts. I'm doing a report on the positive uses of muggle objects in the wizarding world." Tessa smiled at her success to Marcus' silence.

"Good that'll shut him up," thought Tessa. Marcus chuckled, and Tessa frowned.

"Oh, I might have to read that sometime. Privately of course," he said winking at her.

"If you can read it," thought Tessa very annoyed at her failed attempts.

"So how's Quidditch," said Tessa quickly.

"Oh, it's been great. We—".

"Thank fucking Merlin," thought Tessa as Marcus began talking about himself.

They finally reached the Great Hall just as Marcus ended his monologue.

"Well we need to part ways you know," said a chipper Tessa as she quickly hopped down a step. "And, seriously, thanks," said Tessa as she turned around to face Marcus. His cheeks turned red and Tessa noticed that his face look slimmer. Marcus' jawline was suddenly slimmer and sharp. Tessa knew it was from Marcus' adjustments. He actually looked decent, still had bricks for brains, but he definitely did not look like a troll anymore.

"I'll wait five minutes," said Marcus smiling at Tessa staring at his face for too long. She grumbled a bye and skipped down the steps. She opened one of the massive doors to the Great Hall and walked in. Before she could even scan the room she saw Hermione waving profusely with Angelina and Ginny.

Tessa quickly walked over to the Gryffindor table, and waved to Ron and Harry sitting near the entrance.

"We saw," said Angelina before Tessa even sat down. Tessa paused and then plopped down next to her friend.

"Oh yeah, Lee got caught—," Tessa was cut off by a very flustered Hermione.

"—Not Lee." Hermione looked more concerned than flustered, but her tone made Tessa feel a little intimidated for the first time. Tessa sighed.

I was looking for Lee, and he just walked out of his House Quarters at the same time I walked passed, and he helped me." All three girls stopped eating and just stared at Tessa.

"He helped you," said Ginny slowly.

"Yeah Lee never showed up to help me and the twins' with a project, and I walked down to the dungeons, because that was the last time I saw him. Well Marcus knew where he was and helped me get there. He wasn't creepy, just rude and very flirtatious," said Tessa quietly.

"Did he touch you?" Angelina asked with concern.

"Not like that. He would grab me if I was going the wrong way, because he wanted me to follow him, but kept distance. I lost actually him at one point and he picked me up to turn me around, but he never un-consentingly touched me," said Tessa calmly.

"Alright," said Angelina with smile as she began to eat her food again. "But why would he help you. He's a Slytherin," said Ginny very confused. "I think I know," said Hermione thoughtfully.

All four girls walked out of the Great Hall together.

"Remember the project you had at the beginning of school," said Hermione.

"Project?" Angelina asked enthusiastically.

"I'll tell you in the room," whispered Tessa. Angelina nodded to let Tessa continue.

"Yes, but it's over I took away his memory of that specific time," said Tessa.

"Okay, but I think Flint might've already had some attraction towards you before you gave him the potion," said Hermione matter-of-factly.

"But how that's—."

"That's not impossible," said Ginny curiously.

"I do remember Malfoy saying something about Marcus on the train ride in September. Apparently he wasn't too happy that their captain had a thing for Tessa. I don't know why or how since Marcus never was around Tessa except Quidditch." Angelina laughed.

"Well maybe that's enough. I know plenty of guys that like girls only because they are good on the field."

Tessa blushed.

"Well now we know why he took such a strong affect to the potion," said Ginny laughing as the girls continued their conversation to the Common Room.


	10. Detention

After the last round of searching for Black was over the all clear was given by the Head Mater and school resumed to its normal routine. With less restriction, Tessa and the Twins could finally escape from professors without receiving detention.

"When's your last meeting with Snape," said Fred to Tessa and Lee.

"Tonight," said Tessa happily with the sweet relief of freedom by tomorrow.

"It's with a couple of Seventh years, but it should be fun," said Lee excitedly.  
Tessa and Lee would be cleaning pots and testing first years' potions for the last time, and Tessa couldn't be happier. After Flint's stunt at the Quidditch match, he was also in Snape's detention. He always winked at Tessa while motioning obscene gestures with the way he would clean dirty cauldrons.

"How does it feel, Tess?" George asked with a smirk.

"Marvelous. If it wasn't for Lee, I would've been converted by the end of the month," said Tessa sarcastically. Fred and George laughed and pushed through the crowd waiting for lunch at the entrance of the Great Hall.

"Stop pressing too hard you'll scratch the bronze," said Snape with a crisp voice towards his one of his students.

"Can't get it out," said the Slytherin boy struggling to get some burnt goop out of the cauldron, after a first year heated the potion at too high of a temperature earlier that day.

Snape snatched the cauldron out the boy's hands and plopped it onto Tessa's desk. Tessa sighed with annoyance, and picked up the streaky cauldron. She scrubbed away some of the thicker burnt pieces of goo with a tooth brush and picked up a soapy salve with a soft sponge to buff out the rest.

Snape looked mildly impressed for a split second and frowned again.

"Five points to Gryffindor; I suppose," said Snape lazily after Tessa grabbed a wet cloth and dish soap to fully clean the cauldron. A few of the Seventh year boys grumbled in annoyance.

Snape paced back and forth in the middle of the room like he had somewhere to be and abruptly stopped in the middle. "It would be a great opportunity to have a contest between Gryffindor and Slytherin. 50 points to the winner", said Snape after some of the Slytherin boy's paces were getting much slower after cleaning their first cauldron, and wasting everyone else's time.

"That's ridiculous," snapped Tessa at the unfair advantage.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," snapped back Snape in response.

"What for?" replied Tessa with vivid annoyance.

"Do you want to make it twenty," retorted Snape shrewdly.

"No, Professor," said Tessa after a pause.

With Flint at the same count as Tessa and Lee, both Houses were tied at sixteen cauldrons.

"This is stupid", mumbled Tessa to Lee who nodded his head quickly in agreement.

"Stop complaining, or I will have to take more," snapped Snape in response. Lee and Tessa snorted and continued to scrub the last few cauldrons left.

After Lee placed his freshly cleaned cauldron on the floor, Tessa looked up to see two cauldrons left. Flint already grabbed one and tried to sneak the other one to a nearly finished peer to his right. Tessa, immediately, accio-ed the cauldron to her, before Flint could grab the edge of it; Flint whipped around and looked for Tessa's wand in her hands.

"Pro-Professor she's cheatin'," said one of the boys after flinching from seeing a flying cauldron in his peripheral vision. Professor Snape whirled around and faced the group.

He looked a Tessa and over to the students bags that still had each of the students wands lying on top.

"Did she use a wand," said Snape to the Slytherin.

"What?" replied the Boy. Snape slowly stood up and walked over to their section.

"Did. She," said Snape slowly. "Use…. A wand." The boy began to stutter visibly confused at seeing Tessa's wand still on her bag.

"N-n-no Professor," said the boy.

"Then fifty points to Gryffindor," stated Snape annoyingly.

Marcus mumbled profanities and reprimanded his House for losing to two "fucking" people, Snape looked at the small sand timer on his desk.

"Jordan. Thornhill," commanded Snape.

"Yes, Professor," said the two in unison.

"Finish cleaning this filth," said Snape pointing at some of the the Slytherin boys' streaky cauldrons.

He escorted Flint and the boys out and turned towards Tessa and Lee. "A professor will be down here to make their rounds every ten minutes, so behave," said Snape and shut the door with a bang.

"Shit," said Lee after the door was closed.

Five minutes into their cleaning, the door slowly creaked open to reveal the twins.

"Heee-llo," said the twins in unison as the shut the door behind them.

"Helping hand?" Tessa asked politely and George shrugged.

"We might," said George.

"For a price," said Fred smiling.

"And what might that be," said Lee jokingly.

"Help us with ours of course," said Fred.

"Cleaning Filch's closets in the dungeons," said George with a smirk.

"And trapping them," finished Fred slyly. Tessa and Lee smiled and looked at each other.

"Deal," they stated and threw clothes to Fred and George.

Within 15 minutes, all of the cauldrons were squeaky clean. There was a slight knock on the potion's classroom door. Thankfully, it was Professor McGonagall was the first to make her rounds in the dungeons as she opened the door to see four of her students, instead of two inside.

"Oh well, I guess this is no surprise. I see you have finished cleaning the cauldrons," Said the Professor while observing the freshly cleaned room.

"Yess, Professor. May we work together and help Fred and George with their spring cleaning?" Tessa asked politely.

"I see no harm in helping," stated McGonagall as she made her to the door and strode out of the classroom.

"Now that this is out of the way," said Tessa. "Let's get started."

They walked to the next closet on the twins' list. They opened the door and the putrid smell of cat piss wafted the air.

"Merlin's beard," said Lee as he covered the lower half of his face with his left arm.

"Disgusting," mumbled Tessa as she inspected the damage. Tessa dropped her bag to the wall and pulled out her wand. With a flick of her wrist, the cleaning objects sprung to life and began cleaning the dusty room by their selves. Lee laughed with astonishment and Tessa smiled visibly proud of herself.

"Beauty and the Beast," said Tessa point at the moving brooms, mops, and bucks.

"What?" George said confused.

"Beauty and Beast," stated Tessa again with more passion.

"I don't—," began George lightly.

"—We watched it together. Over the Summer," said Tessa with a laugh and slight annoyance at the missed reference. "Muggle movie with the bewitched Prince and—, "Tessa's voice slowly faded as Lee and Fred moved on the next closet to get a head start.

"What is Beauty and the Beast," mumbled Lee after a moment of silence.

"Don't even," said Fred with a laugh and opened the door to the next closet. Fortunately it was clean, and Fred gave Lee a couple of stinks bombs to plant in the mouse hole at the bottom left corner of the tiny cupboard. Tessa and George came up five minutes later.

"Oh, so the real beast is the hunter," said George.

"Yes," Tessa laughed and pulled her wand out again.

"This one's clean," shouted Lee as he shut the door. All four walked together and planted traps at the next few closets until they were all spotless and set with a trap to go off when school ends.

"He never cleans the dungeons 'til Summer," said Fred cheerfully.


	11. The Party

"GRYFF-IN-DOR. GRYFF-IN-DOR." The chanting of students enveloped the Common Room once the team walked in. Wood flashed his signature smile while holding the Cup raised high over his head.

"We did it," whispered Angelina in excitement as Tessa and her roommates jumped up and down with happiness. The twins squeezed through the congratulatory crowd and put on some music. The sound blasted through the room as students began to cheer and chant for their House even louder. Tessa was doing the same until two arms grabbed her shoulders and waist dragging her away from the party.

"We have a responsibility you know," said the twins in unison.

"And why am I in it," stated Tessa wriggling away to get back to the center of the party.

"To be look out of course," said George with a laugh as they opened the Common Room door to the silent Hallway.

Getting food for the party was always easy considering the Professors rarely monitored the dungeons at the end of the year, but, due to unfortunate circumstances, the traffic was overwhelmingly high with Professors and Prefects.

"It's been a crazy year," said Fred quietly as they maneuvered the Grand Staircase.

"Indeed," replied Tessa looking over the edge to the floor below.

"Mrs. Norris is on the Third Floor," said George holding the Maruader's map.

"Harry let you borrow it?" Tessa asked quite surprised to see the old map again.

"He just as hungry as the rest of us," replied George flipping the map around to the second and First floor.

"The ground Floor is clear," whispered Tessa as she slinked across the hallway to the entrance of the dungeons.

"Now remember," said Fred.

"Send an origami," said George.

"Here's a list of which animal is a symbol for each signal needed to be given," said Fred.

"We already memorized it," said the twins' proudly in unison. Tessa rolled her eyes and snatched the scroll from Fred.

They waved goodbye and sauntered into the darkness of the dungeon leaving Tessa with the scroll and Map for security. Tessa sighed and sat along a very shadowed end of the Great Hall.

Tessa laid her bag beside her right thigh and laid her wand beside her left. She unbuckled the latch of her bag quietly. Flipping the top flap over the shoulder straps, she lifted her Potions book out, with a few sheets of crafting paper stuffed inside, and placed it upon her crossed legs. She unraveled the scroll Fred had given her and looked at the list.

Dragon- Safe and Sound

Rabbit- Get Outta There!

Snake- Snape/Prefect in the dungeon

Cat- McGonnagall

Crane- 5 minutes

Frog- !0 minutes

Whale- 15 minutes

Smiling, Tessa shook her head, rolled up the scroll, stuffed it in her bag, and began making the origami pieces. It was calming to make the pieces without her wand. She felt liberated to acknowledge and witness her minor mistakes and folds permanently wrinkled within the paper. Small origamis began lining Tessa's book by the time five minutes past.

She lifted her wand a lightly tapped the crane at the upper left corner of her makeshift desk. The Crane floated into the air and began floating in front of her face. She whispered a tracking spell she made to find the twins and the crafted paper zoomed towards the entrance of the Dungeon.

"Safe Travels," Tessa said quietly and looked down for the next sheet of paper.

Tessa shuddered at an unexpected noise and raised her head slowly. A medium sized cat sat in the middle of the grand staircase staring straight into Tessa's direction.

She froze hoping the cat was merely looking at the birds above her whom nestling themselves in the sil for the night, but the cat obviously bore their glowing eyes right into her soul.

The cat arched its body in a long and meaningful stretch before sauntering, slowly, down the staircase. Once it reached the third step that was fully illuminated by the moonlight, a small black paw and another slowly began showing until Tessa sighed with relief. Nyx leaped off the last step and hopped towards her owner.

Nyx head-butted the book on Tessa's lap with so much force it knocked over the origamis that now littered the floor and the book bag. The cat excitedly jumped onto the book and rolled to her side laying her body across Tessa's things. The cat pawed at Tessa's right hand trying to lean into her palm.

She rolled her eyes and began stroking underneath Rosie's chin. She picked up her wand with her free hand, and, with a flick, the papers on the floor rustled. The colorful sheets quickly formed into each of the last origamis needed.

"Alright; Alright. Let's move somewhere else," said Tessa to Nyx trying to pick the cat up off of her lap.

After gathering her things, with a very happy familiar weaving through her legs, Tessa moved them to a nook completely covered in the shadows. Rosie waited patiently as Tessa situated the Origamis on the window sill above them. Once Tessa sat down, Rosie jumped into her lap. Tessa chuckled and with a whip of her wand another Origami flew. Tessa closed her eyes hearing the paper crinkling to life and speeding towards the dungeon door.

"Merlin's beard!"

Tessa's eyes flew open from the sound of Profesor Lupin's voice. Nyx groaned at Tessa's sudden movements and playfully bit Tessa left hand. "Fuck," mumbled Tessa trying to struggle with getting her wand away from her cat. With a swift movement of her hand Tessa set herself free, but all of the origamis on the window flew towards the sound of Professor Lupin's voice. Like a rhythmic pattern of notes, each Origami hit its mark perfectly.

After a long silence Professor Lupin laughed and continued up the stairs. Nyx purred at the sight of the Professor once he reached ground level of the Great Hall and leaped off of Tessa's lap running towards him.

"Lousy cat," thought Tessa and began to stand up to proclaim her punishment.

"Not another step Miss Thornhill," said Lupin still petting Rosie who was now weaving underneath the Professor's legs and nibbling his frayed shoelaces.

"You have a mission to fulfill," he finished while standing up and began walking towards the staircase.

"Meet me in my Office Monday evening, after dinner, for your detention." Tessa grumbled with a mixed emotion of relief and annoyance.

"Oh by the way," said Professor Lupin once he reached the first step to the staircase. "You have about five more minutes." The Professor turned on his heels and swiveled back to the stairs bounding up them to continue his daily rounds.

Once the Professor was out of range she leaped off the window with so much force Nyx spat at her owner and scampered up the staircase to the Gryffindor Common Room Tessa yanked her backpack off the bench and ran to towards the dungeons.

"They're not leaving me out this time," said Tessa with annoyance as she skipped each step reaching the bottom of the dungeon. She leaped of the last step and ran towards the painting that was near the entrance of the Kitchens. Once she reached the door she saw a light emitting from the very end of the Hallway near the Slytherin Common Rooms.

"Shit," muttered Tessa as she opened the door quietly and closed it swiftly. "Oh Miss, if you're here to find the twins they've already left."

Tessa whirled around and rammed her back against the door. Her heart was racing at the little elf standing on the stool next to the cupboard. With a slight click the lock on the dessert pantry clicked and the elf leaped off of the stool.

"Terribly sorry to scare you Lady Gryffindor." The small elf's ears covered its eyes in shame. "I'm not Lady Gryffindor," Tessa thought with anger.

"Do you know where they went?" Tessa asked kindly.

"I think they walked towards the Common Room down the hall. A certain Professor was lumbering through the basement for quit sometime and might be back. You must get a move on too. My lady," said the elf with concern.

"Thanks," said Tessa trying to not roll her eyes. She opened the door and turned around to meet the elf again. She lifted her last sheet of paper and fashioned it to the shape of a dragon.

"Oh thank you Miss! Your creations are always a treasure!" Said the elf excitedly as he scampered towards the back of the kitchen and placed it near the stove.

Tessa laughed and left the room. She looked down the hall towards the light she saw emitting at the very end. Anger began to brew and Tessa bolted towards the end of the Hallway.

She already had detention with Professor Lupin and now that it was end of Quidditch, Tessa didn't really care what other Professors saw her during their rounds.

"MISS. LADY."

Tessa didn't bother to turn around to see what the elf had to offer for she was already nearing the Slytherin Common Room and didn't want to cause any more trouble to their evening.

Fred and George reached the end of a secret passageway and lifted the trap door slightly. Night sky and wind was their only company. George pushed the door harder and with a loud thud it hit the ground behind his head.

"Do you think Tessa got our letter?" Asked George smoothly while pulling his twin up and out of the door.

"Not sure, but there's only one way to find out," said Fred grinning as they walked towards the entry way to the Gryffindor Tower.

"GOT THE GOODS," the twins yelled in unison once the Fat Lady swung the door open to let them both through. Aloud roar of joy enveloped the Common Room as food began to lift out of their sack and land on the table. The party got louder and louder that even a muffling spell couldn't hold in the party for much longer. Fred scanned the room for Tessa while George began talking to Wood.

"She can't be that hard to miss she's taller than most of the students here," thought Fred. "Excuse me."

Fred looked down slightly. "That was awesome what you did during the match," said Malia, a Seventh year. Fred smirked and continued their conversation exploding with charm and wit that the girl incessantly laughed after every sentence Fred finished.

"I guess he knows what he's doing," said Lee to George.

"Not for long," thought George as he nodded at Lee's statement.

Tessa reached the top of the secret passageway, a floor away from the Common Room. She rolled her eyes at the lack of the twins' care with leaving the door open that she slammed it shut and jogged to the Grand Staircase.

"Always have to clean up their mistakes," mumbled Tessa loudly as she began to huff from her quick pace that she kept once she left the dungeons. She was too enveloped into her anger to look where she ran into something firm as she rounded a corner of the Hallway leading to the Grand staircase. She fell onto the ground, hard, with a heavy weight on top of her.

"At least, you found me and not another Prefect," mumbled the voice extremely close to her face. Tessa opened her eyes to see Cedric above her with his award winning smirk.

"Glad you found me as well," said Tessa.

"Kind of like this meeting we've created." Cedric smiled.

"I kind of like it too," said Tessa while blushing. Cedric blushed too and both began to register that neither one of them tried to move out of the situation they were in.

The only space that was between them was the gap between their chests and faces.

"So what brings you here," said Tessa.

"Um. You, actually," said Cedric looking down at Tessa's neck, or, at least, she hoped it was her neck.

"Oh. Care to explain, or are you going to stare at my neck all night," said Tessa with a smirk. Cedric's faced turned red even more and looked at Tessa's face.

"I found your bag while walking in the dungeons. A house elf saw me and told me you went passed the dungeons to the other staircase. So I figured you'd be near the Astronomy Tower and now we're here," said Cedric slightly pink.

"Well thanks for finding me and giving me my bag," said Tessa looking at Cedric's lips.

"Christ what is wrong with me," thought Tessa holding herself back from leaning forward. "He smells really nice," thought Tessa.

"You were great today. I've never seen someone dive bomb a goal before," said Cedric.

"Gotta go through any means necessary to score you know," said Tessa confidently.

"Yeah," said Cedric still not moving from the position they created.

"Is it okay of I take your advice," said Cedric looking back and forth at Tessa's lips and eyes.

"Yeah," said Tessa quietly. Cedric swiftly leaned forward and passionately kissed Tessa.

"Damn, he beat me," thought Tessa after Cedric lifted slightly from their kiss.

"Thanks," said Cedric breathlessly he lifted slightly and rubbed against her hips.

She kissed Cedric again with more force and passion than his. He obliged and began rubbing her waist up and down, with his hands, refusing to move to any further than the amount he thought felt comfortable to Tessa. She laughed slightly into their kiss.

"What?" Cedric asked, laughing as well after pulling away from the kiss.

"You are so nice," said Tessa placing a hand on Cedric's.

"Just didn't want to make you uncomfortable," said Cedric with a smile. "You aren't trust me," said Tessa biting her lip.

"You're a good kisser. I think I've already mentioned it before," Tessa added blushing.

"You too," said Cedric smiling.

"I'm sure plenty of guys have told you that of course." Tessa blushed and pushed Cedric off of her.

"You're the first person I've kissed actually. Well properly kissed," Tessa smiled and shrugged her shoulders a little. Cedric's face lit up as he stood to his feet. He reached towards Tessa's hand and helped her up as well.

Tessa stood up and wrapped and arm around Cedric's waist closing the space between them. Cedric smiled even more and began looking away and back at Tessa repeatedly.

"Do you want to try this again?" Cedric asked with excitement in his voice. Tessa kissed Cedric in response. He put his hand on her face while wrapping another around her lower torso. Tessa released from the kiss and Cedric rubbed his nose against Tessa's. "Shall I walk you back?" Cedric asked while brushing strands of hair out of Tessa's face.

"Yeah, but let's take the long way around. I have to show you something," said Tessa smiling.

"Okay," said Cedric letting go of Tessa's body and grabbing her hand instead. Tessa pulled Cedric back to the way she came.

"I'm not gonna lie," said Cedric quietly.

"I couldn't stop thinking about you after our first date. I really like you." Tessa smiled.

"I like you too. I always thought you were amazing, but I never thought I would get past being friends. Especially after my rampage before Holiday," said Tessa looking up at Cedric.

"Yeah, and you were too busy chasing someone else most of the time," said Cedric jokingly.

"Yeah. You're right, and I think I'm done chasing nothing. I'd rather be doing this," said Tessa blushing. "Did everyone notice me having a crush on him?" Tessa asked with slight embarrassment.

"Do you want me to answer honestly?" Cedric asked in response.

"Yes," said Tessa with a sigh. "And I promise I won't run away." Cedric laughed and squeezed her hand tighter.

"Yeah, um, everyone saw, or, at least, my friends did. They told me you'd be…difficult, and I believed them for most of the semester until I mustered up the courage to ask. They joked that you were already taken in your mind," Cedric said quietly. Tessa face had fallen.

"Well we don't have to worry about that now. I'm not like that anymore. Thanks for telling me," said Tessa smiling up at Cedric.

"Thanks for not running away," said Cedric.

"I'm actually surprised no one has found us yet," said Tessa lifting up the trap door with a flick of her wand.

"Even so I'd just say I'm taking you to a Professor's office. You know Prefect and everything," said Cedric. "Ready for this adventure," said Cedric taking Tessa hand.

"So ready," Tessa replied as she walked down the stairs first with Cedric in tow.

"I can't believe Fred is making out with her just so she'd shut up," said Hermione looking disgusted at the two playing tonsil hockey in the corner of the Common Room. At the table she usually studies at.

"If you'd had a conversation with her you'd do the same thing," mumbled Ginny with annoyance.

"I'm going to have to sanitize the table later," muttered Hermione.

"I'll help," said a girl behind them. Ginny and Hermione whipped around to see Tessa.

"Tessa!," said the girls in unison.

"We were so worried about you," said Ginny situating herself so Tessa could sit between them.

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked looking over at Fred.

"Yeah, I'm alright. He can do whatever he wants," said Tessa with a smile.

"We honestly figured that after Holiday, but we just want to make sure," said Ginny with relief.

"I think I have a…friend." Ginny and Hermione looked at Tessa with excitement and surprise. "It's Cedric," said Tessa confidently.

Ginny and Hermione still smiled at Tessa the morning after the news.

"So I know we didn't have a chance to talk, but what happened," said Ginny with a cup of morning tea. Tessa, Ginny, and Hermione were the only Gryffindor students up that morning, so they felt free sitting wherever they pleased.

"Well we kissed, but he told me he still had feelings for me and wanted to see things through," said Tessa smearing jelly on a slice of toast.

"So that's why it took you so long to get back," said Hermione.

"Well Fred and George left me. I saw them go into a passageway after I received detention from Lupin, and we ran into each other. He came looking for me after I left my bag in front of his Common Room."

"Wait, I thought he wasn't a Headboy," said Ginny setting her mug on the table. "He said the Headboy was sick so he offered to do it instead," said Tessa smiling looking down at her plate. "He's really nice, and I want to see this trough to its full potential."

Hermione and Ginny smiled at their friend and were relieved she had acceptance and understanding, for once.

"I'm sure it'll be more than satisfactory," said Hermione picking up her book and opened the page that was bookmarked by thick sheets of notes.

Tessa waved Goodbye to the two still sitting at the table, and walked up to the Common Room.

"Tongue Fizzies," said Tessa to the Fat Lady. The door swung open to reveal an array of disoriented students still in their pajamas. Harry and Ron sat at the sofa in front of the fireplace with their heads hanging low.

"Morning boys," said Tessa jovially.

"Can you not talk so loud," stated Ron angrily in his squeaky voice.

"For Merlin's sake Ron, you didn't even drink," said Tessa laughing.

"Too much sugar can do wonders to you," stated Harry looking up from the Daily Prophet and slyly smiling at Tessa.

"I guess it can," stated Tessa walking towards the Girl's Dormitory.

Tessa changed into some jogging clothes and made a badger Origami and stuffed it into her HollyHead Harpies hoodie. She charged down the stairs waved to Harry and Ron.

"Hey Tess," said Harry. "If you're looking for the twins, they just left to eat breakfast." Ron lifted his head.

"Also a girl was with the—Ouch !" Harry elbowed Ron hard and muttered. "Shut up Ron."

"It's okay. I'm off to find someone else," said Tessa trying to keep her from getting too excited. Harry whipped around to look at Tessa.

"About time," said Harry and rolled back to his browsing position for the rest of the morning. Tessa was too excited to give a comeback and leaped of the step to the painting.

Once the Fat Lady closed her door Tessa whipped out her wand and with a flick the badger leaped off of her hand and ran along the staircase to its new owner. Tessa raced the paper down the stairs to the very bottom. The badger leaped off of the last steps and ran to the Great Hall. Tessa slowed her pace to a stop.

"Shit," muttered Tessa and she watched the little badger flatten itself and go under the seal of the Great doors. Tessa rubbed her face for a moment and slowly walked to where the paper would lead her to its destination. She opened the doors quietly to see the room filled with students from every House.

Hermione and Ginny sat in the same spot Tessa left them, but they were with many other girls laughing and giggling about whatever. Tessa scanned the room to see Fred, George, Lee, and a seventh year sitting together. Tessa rolled her eyes. She straightened her shoulders and walked towards the Hufflepuff Table.

"Hey Tess, wanna sit with us?" Angelina asked stopping Tessa at the end of the table. "We save a spot for you," she finished looking concerned.

"Erm, no I'm good," said Tessa winking at a very perplexed Angelina.

"You'll see," mumbled Tessa just enough for only Angelina to hear. She walked past the Gryffindor table and to the end of the Hufflepuff table.

Tessa looked back at her friend and Angelina had the broadest smile on her face that Tessa had ever seen. She looked back at the man she intended to sit with and noticed an empty seat to his left.

"Well, oh, well," said a Seventh Year. "Looks like she came after all."

Tessa smiled ready to up her charm. "I guess you found my note?" Tessa asked as she sat down in the open space.

"It's very crafty," said a Sixth year girl with a smile. "Could you teach me that sometime?" Tessa smiled.

"Of course," said Tessa. "I use it to find my friends." Most of the group nodded in approval.

"Very handy," said Cedric smiling broadly.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go on a jog today?" Tessa asked.

"Sounds great," said Cedric the smile never leaving his face.

"Gryffindor won the match and you still are conditioning?" Asked a Seventh year that Tessa saw as the Beater for the team.

"It's more of a hobby," stated Tessa reaching for a cup of tea and bacon. Some of the Quidditch players Tessa recognized around her nodded their heads and continued on with their conversations amongst themselves.

"If I do go jogging with you, I have a much better sweater you should use," said Cedric nudging her.

"Oh really, what could be better than the Harpies," stated Tessa placing her elbow on the table and resting her chin in her hand.

"You'll see," stated Cedric who continued to eat the last of his breakfast quickly.

Tessa left with Cedric after he finished his cup of tea. They stood up and some of the Gryffindor table fell silent. She walked out of the Hall and waved goodbye to her roommates who frantically waved back. She didn't dare look in the direction of the twins.

"Luckily the Common Room isn't too far off," said Tessa reaching for Cedric's hand.

"Yeah. You're welcome to come in," said Cedric looking at Tessa.

"Erm. Uh. Really?" Tessa said more shocked than anything.

"Well yeah," said Cedric with slight concern. "You just need to stand by the door," said Cedric. "I trust you. You almost were chosen for our House that year, I remember," said Cedric smiling.

"I had qualities of every House," said Tessa with a laugh.

"True," said Cedric. "I've never seen Dumbeldore shift in his seat while waiting for a student's sorting."

Tessa looked at Cedric with surprise. "No one's every told me that before," said Tessa wide-eyed.

"Yeah it was quite something," said Cedric looking proud.

"Why do you think everyone older than you has been somewhat decent towards you?" Tessa nodded her head and opened the door to the kitchens.

"I'll wait here," said Tessa with a smile.

"You sure?" stated Cedric. "No one is in there. It'll only be us. Where's that sense of adventure," said Cedric wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Where's your loyalty," Tessa retorted with a smirk.

"No opposing house member has ever seen our Common Room," said Cedric. "But that doesn't mean that they've never been inside." Cedric wrapped a tie around Tessa's eyes and pulled it tight.

 _TAP TAP. TAP TAP TAP._

Tessa heard a door swing open and felt Cedric's arms on her waist and thigh. "Okay, I know this is going to sound weird, but I need you to jump and wrap your legs around my waist. It's the, uh, only way to maneuver you through so you won't hit your head. Tessa stomach began to fill with butterflies. She leaped and wrapped her legs around his waist and rested her arms around his neck. She brushed his nose with hers trying to get a position.

"Sorr—" Cedric shut her up with a kiss. "Now hold on tight I have to crawl through," stated Cedric.

"Okay," said Tessa still in shock. She felt her body shift with Cedric as he swiftly maneuvered through the hole.

"Well you've had great practice," said Tessa jokingly. Cedric chuckled in her ear.

"Trust me you're the first," whispered Cedric. Tessa smiled and shivered slightly at his breath in her ear.

She felt warmth in the room and heard the small crackling of a fireplace. She heard rustling of leaves and chimes swaying slightly. She could feel sunlight on her face and the room smelled like flowers. Tessa laid her head on Cedric's shoulder. A leaf brushed her cheek, and Tessa lifted up her head banging it against a metal pot.

"Merlin! I'm so sorry," said Cedric holding Tessa's head where a large pot hit her. She only laughed in response and held tighter. She could feel Cedric stifling a laugh as well.

Cedric shifted Tessa's weight and let go with one hand to open a door. The room smelled completely different than the one before.

"Are we in a hallway?" Asked Tessa sniffing the dusty air. Cedric laughed. Tessa smiled and patiently waited for the next room. This one was boring.

Cedric opened a door to his room. He waddled over to his bed and slowly sat Tessa there.

"Nice room," said Tessa crossing her legs and patiently waiting. Cedric laughed and walked over to his wardrobe. He opened it looking for his Puddlemore United hoodie.

"Hope she'll wear it," thought Cedric to himself as he took a once over of the hoodie. He turned around saw Tessa in a muggle T-shirt with her Hoodie to the side. Cedric smiled and walked over. She lifted her arms and Cedric placed the holes over her hands. Tessa did the rest and situated the slightly baggy hood around her waist.

"Looks great," said Tessa with a smile.

Cedric smirked and walked over to Tessa. He lifted her over his shoulder and briskly walked out of his room. Tessa's laugh echoed the hallway as he jogged to the Common Room. He weaved through the dancing plants and chimes and made it to the entrance. He lifted Tessa pushed her through first; He leaped off of the barrel and swung the door shut behind him.

"Can I take my blindfold off now?" Tessa asked standing in the same spot he led her to.

"Yes," said Cedric with a chuckle. Tessa whipped off her blindfold and looked down at the hoodie. She nodded in approval and turned around.

"It's nice," said Tessa folding her hands into the pockets.

"Much better than the other sweater," replied Cedric nudging Tessa out of the corridor.

They aimlessly jogged and walked outside for most of the morning until more students emerged from the depths of the castle. They skipped rocks by the lake until it was time for lunch and walked back to the Great Hall. Cedric held open the doors for Tessa to go through and walked in behind her he squeezed her hand goodbye and marched over to the Hufflepuff Table leaving Tessa at her own. She aimlessly walked over to her roommates and sat down.

"So how'd it go?" Asked Katie excitedly.

"It was nice. He's really sweet," replied Tessa with a blush. She ranted on and on about his passions and personal stories until dessert enveloped the table in front of her.

"Sounds like you're having a great time," stated Angelina winking.

"So far yeah," said Tessa trying to reach over the tables to get the last peanut butter cookie. All three of her roommates looked at each other and silence fell between them.

"What?" Exclaimed Tessa with a cookie stuffed in her mouth.

"Fred's been in his room all day," replied Alicia.

"Well he can get over it. He seemed pretty happy sticking his tongue down that girl's throat last night. Why can't I enjoy mine?" The girls giggled at Tessa's statement and continued eating lunch gossiping about the party and who did what with whom.

Tessa walked down the Hall of Hexes aimlessly. She bid her time until she saw the forsaken door that would lead her to the group she was looking for. She stopped at the entrance and stared at the knob before turning slightly and pushing the door in slowly.

"There she is," bellowed George leaning away from scattered notes and an open book.

"About time," stated Fred not looking away from a potion brewing in his cauldron.

"We decided to study today," finished George with a smile. "We got your bag from your roommates," stated Lee with a wink and lifting up Tessa's bag. Tessa shut the door and walked across the room snagging her bag to reach the empty seat George scooted out for her to sit in.

"So what are we studying," stated Tessa lifting up some of Georges notes after scooting her chair in.

"Potions," said George pointing over at Fred.

"And DADA," said George broadly with Lee fist pumping in the background.

"Pick your poison," whispered George slyly. Tessa, without breaking George's eye contact, flipped open her bag and pulled out DADA. George nodded in approval and looked back down at his notes.

Tessa stretched her tired arms and legs. After dinner, the group relocated to the library. An entire table filled with Gryffindor fifth years placed themselves at the deepest parts of the library without disturbances. Mostly after Fred tried to avoid a table of giggling seventh years waving him over repeatedly while the twins waited for the rest of their group.

"I think it's time to head in," stated Tessa closing her book and leaning forward to stretch her aching back.

"I think the rest of us will stay," replied Angelina.

"You guys have a head start," finished Katie with a smile.

"Yeah I think I'll stay too," stated Lee pulling out his potions book. Angelina rolled hers and pulled out her DADA book using her quickly vacated potion books as a stand.

"Or DADA is fine too," said Lee slowly placing his potion books down and pulling out more DADA notes. Tessa giggled while putting her things away. She stood up and noticed that Fred was already finished standing at the end of the aisle waiting for her and his brother.

The trio walked passed group after group of studying students half asleep and struggling to keep up the momentum of reading book after book before exams.

"Hey Fred," said a voice very flirtatiously. Tessa looked up to see Malia, with the group of giggling seventh year girls, waving Fred over. Fred raised his hand once and kept on walking.

"What are they in third year," mumbled Tessa as they walked passed. Both Fred and George chuckled at her statement, and Tessa smirked with approval.

"Wait! Wait," said Malia stumbling out of her chair to catch up.

"I was wondering if you wanted to study with us," she stated while stroking and index finger down Fred's arm. Tessa gagged and the girl whipped her head around with such ferocity that George even scoffed at her glare that tried to rip through Tessa's core.

"No thanks," stated Fred getting the girl's attention back to him. Her face quickly changed to the award winning smile she had mere seconds before and then dropped to a pout.

"Your work is too advanced, of course, for a fifth year like me," said Fred again and turning to walk away. Tessa smirked and walked with him in tow.

"Well I could go in early too," mumbled the girl looking back at the table.

"Will she ever take a hint," mumbled Fred to Tessa.

"You made the bed," replied Tessa her smiled broadening once Fred quickened his pace.

"This is great," said Tessa once they exited the Library.

"Yeah for you," yelled Fred jogging down the hall to a secret passage way for good measure. Tessa and George laughed jogging after him when they heard the Library door burst open.

"I'M COMING," yelled the girl trying to sprint down the hall.

"How rude," mumbled George looking back at the open door slowly shutting back again from the force of her pushing the door against the wall.

"At least you're being a gentleman," said Tessa smiling at Fred's patience.

"Our Mother raised us well," stated George putting his arm over Tessa's shoulder.

"Could we walk alone, please," stated Malia once she caught up. She glared at Tessa who patiently waited on Fred's response while putting her hand on George's waist.

"Of course," said Fred with a sarcastic smile.

"Splendid," she replied grinning at Fred.

"Oh could you be a dear and hold my bags. They are so heavy from all the books I have to carry. You know I'm taking more classes than any student here—," her voice faded down the hall while Fred snatched her bag out of her hand.

"He made his bed deep," stated George squeezing Tessa's shoulder and pulling her to walk the opposite direction. "Let's go an even longer way around."

George and Tessa quietly walked passed the library again.

"So, now that they are way out of range," said Tessa. "How and why did this happen again. I mean I know he made out with her at the party, but she's treating him like a matt she can now walk all over."

"Well, from what I know, she's had her eye on at least one of us since we hit puberty. But that's also coming from Angelina," said George with a laugh.

"He only made out with her," said Tessa still confused.

"Not everyone's like you and your roommates Tessa," said George. "I'm just relieved it's not me." Tessa laughed. "Well she's going to get a wakeup call on that walk if she doesn't stop."

"Fred's already annoyed with her," said George frowning. "A bit put out with you for some reason."

"Even Ginny would be off-putting to that witch," replied Tessa with annoyance.

"She said some things over breakfast," said George thinning his lips into a flat line.

"It's okay. I'm a rock," said Tessa stoically.

"You are, but it was about you, your family. Just things that weren't acceptable," said George squeezing Tessa closer.

"And you defended my honor of course," said Tessa smiling up at the red-head.

"Yes, but in our own ways," replied George with a cunning smile.

"Good" stated Tessa leaning in closer to George's body.

"So Fred was hiding in his room—,"

"Because she wouldn't leave him alone," interrupted George. "He's fine you know."

Tessa sighed with relief. "He's a nice guy," mumbled Tessa quietly.

"Yeah but he also beat us on a fluke," stated George with pent up anger over the first Quidditch match last semester.

"Yeah, but we won cup," replied Tessa. George smiled. "Yeah, we did."

The Fat Lady opened the door to reveal an empty Common Room. "Looks like they haven't quit made it," stated George.

"So what was your way of defending my honor," stated Tessa too nosy to hold in her questions any longer.

"Puking Pastels," stated George plopping onto the sofa by the fireplace.

"Ah well I'm glad I will not witness it," said Tessa slyly.

"Told Fred she wanted candy to help her stress," said George ignoring Tessa.

"I'm sure she's so stressed out with all those classes," Tessa laughed.

"We all know who's taking the most of any student," replied George with a smile. Tessa nodded and rested her head on the back of the sofa.

The Common Room door opened and closed quietly. Tessa looked over to see Fred walking towards them.

"Well that's the end of that," stated Fred joyfully. He sat down next to Tessa and put and arm over the sofa.

"It's not right that people act that way," said Tess placing a hand on Fred's shoulder.

"Agreed," finished the twins in unison.

Silence was a rarity with the three, but they all enjoyed it for once. They stared at the fire until a few more students came in to study at a corner table farthest from the three.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," said Tessa stretching.

"It's a big day," said George getting up as well.

"I think we'll be okay," said Tessa. "The potions final isn't until Friday. I'll help you guys out." Fred and George smiled broadly.

"Goodnight Tess," said the twins in unison.

"Night," replied Tessa reaching the girl's dorm door and closing it behind her.

"I'm glad things went so smoothly," thought Tessa as she spiraled up the staircase. She opened her door to and changed everything except Cedric's sweater as she crawled into bed for night.


	12. New Beginnings

The first exams of O.W.L.S were going smoothly. Tessa was able to balance Lupin's detention, which was studying and tutoring, along with her relationships. She would eat Breakfast with Cedric, and the rest of the day she would hang out with the twins and her friends. It was easy enough since Cedric was more than willing to give her space until they went home for the Holidays.

"Ready to begin Potions?" Fred asked as they walked out of Trelawney's class for the last time.

"Certainly," stated Tessa with a smile. They walked down the Grand Staircase and reached the hall that housed the library. Fred cleared a path through the throng of students and floating books going back to their respective homes.

"This seems like a good spot," stated Fred. He pointed at a nook of the potions section and headed straight for it.

"You've got a good eye," stated Tessa sitting her bag down.

"Learned from the best," said George. He walked over to the other side of the table and placed his book bag down in one of the empty seats on the table.

"Surprised to see you out early," said Fred watching his brother get comfortable in the seat across from him.

"Only on the last prediction when you left," said George coolly. "Lee should be coming soon." He finished placing the tattered potions books on the desk and lifted out sheets of organized notes.

"Alright, so with this potion I only wait ten minutes instead of five?" Angelina asked with little confidence on the advice she had been given.

"Well yeah, it's more potent," said Fred holding up his purple stained note sheet.

"You're doing better," mumbled George quietly. With a table filled with chattering students, their conversation would be private even at a normal volume. Tessa glanced over at Fred and Angelina. They were precariously close and isolated compared to earlier.

"Well yeah. He made his decision I can't hold on forever. It would cause a lot of issues," said Tessa smiling. George nodded snagging the last of Tessa's notes.

"I would be more worried about Lee," said Tessa, laughing, while snagging George's notes in return.

"Looks like he's doing great," laughed George.

Tessa looked over to find an empty seat. She broadened her search around the library until her eyes rested on a nook where Lee and a gorgeous Ravenclaw sat quietly comparing each other's' notes.

"She came to him," said George. "Good," mumbled Tessa in response proud of Lee for snagging such an intelligent girl.

George and Tessa called it an early night as they were the only two willing to depart from their section of the table. They packed up their belongings and heard an unnerving squeal in the aisle next to them.

"I don't understand!"

Tessa and George rounded the corner to witness a very disgruntled Malia trying to shovel piles and piles of scattered notes into her bag only having them spewing back out into the hallway.

"And that's why you don't mess with a Weasley," said Tessa softly as they stepped over her notes with some weaving through their legs. George smirked with pride.

"If she'd stop panicking the spell would wear of immediately, but—,"

George shrugged and smiled as they both kept moving towards the center of the Library.

"I'm more worried about making sure my potion is correct by the end of the day," said George rubbing his face with his hands.

"Snape does keep a classroom open," said Tessa quietly. George stepped in front of Tess cutting her off before she could reach the next section filled with desks and stressed students.

"Why haven't you told me? Us," said George raising an arm in the direction of their friends.

"It's not for everyone," said Tessa sternly. George lowered his arm and shook his head.

"They'll be fine," said Tessa in response. "Fred is excellent. Snape reveres him as one of the few he sees making a living off of it and succeeding. Angelina and Lee will be fine. You, I'm not so sure about." George nodded his head slightly. "You're great at research and experimenting with different ingredients, but Fred makes the potions," said Tessa walking past George towards the entrance of the library.

"So how do you know that Snape said this about Fred?," Asked George.

"Detentions from covering your asses all these years" said Tessa with laugh.

She entered the quiet hallway making her way towards the dungeons. George followed quietly behind.

"Don't we need to wait for the Professors to finish making their rounds?" George whispered looking around before descending into the dungeons.

"No," said Tessa looking back at George. "Snape gave me permission." She whipped her backpack off her shoulders and unbuckled the straps. She flipped open the latch of the top of her bag and pulled out a faded pink slip stained with multiple shades of colors.

"Been a while since he's written one of those," laughed George staring at the permission slip.

She opened the door to the Potion's classroom and shut it quietly behind George. "We have to use our own ingredients. Or, the ones in the excess bin," said Tessa as she placed her bag on the desk furthest from the door.

"George picked up two cauldrons on the table to the right of the door and placed them onto the desk next to Tessa's bag.

"Snape will do a series potions that are possible, but very time consuming. You need patience," said Tessa placing her Potions book on the desk in-between the Silver cauldrons.

"I have plenty of that," said George smirking at Tessa.

"That you do," mumbled Tessa pulling out ingredients from her cabinet.

"We'll start with very simple potions. It's only six, so we have plenty of time to do at least three. We should push for five," said Tessa starting up the burner and placing a mortar and pestle on the desk in-between them.

"It'll help calm your nerves," said Tessa after George's silence gave away his detest.

"Fine, but they need to be easy," mumbled George. He flipped his textbook open and scanned the Table of Contents. Tessa chuckled and opened her book to Chapter One.

"So how did you get the note?" George asked as he stretched his arms over his head.

"He gave it to me," said Tessa turning the pages in her book to the last potion.

"Snape doesn't give things to people Tess." Tessa closed her book and turned around to face George.

"He's not as bad as you think. He's hard on us, but he's not always bad," said Tessa defensively. George nodded and turned to get more ingredients.

"I'm serious," said Tessa again. "People make him out to be this terrible guy, but he's not…that bad." George nodded again. He turned around holding the ingredients in his arms and placing them on the table.

"I'm guessing the many detentions that you had has forced you into liking him," said George smiling at Tessa.

"Yeah that's it," said Tessa glancing down at her closed book.

"It's really hard to see him as kind," said George placing his hand underneath Tessa's elbow. "He's not always kind."

"Not to us," replied Tessa.

She made her way to the supply cupboard and put away the last of the ingredients George missed on the table. She pulled her wand out from her pocket as she closed the closet and tapped the locked. It snapped shut with a click. George came beside her and placed the cauldrons on the top shelf. He handed Tessa her bag and walked over to the table to grab his.

Tessa walked out with George in front of her and closed the door quietly. She winced at the sound echoing through the hallway from the heavy door hitting the rocked walls.

"Great job," whispered George. He turned around and winked at Tessa who glared in return. George placed an arm around Tessa and put his freed hand in his pockets. He gave her a slight push and moved forward with her down the dreary hallway.

The Grand Staircase was eerily quiet. "It's nine at night," muttered Tessa quietly. She looked over the ledge after hearing a pair of third years stifling their laughter on the ground floor below.

"They're hiding," said Tessa very confused.

"From?" George asked peering over Tessa's shoulder to get a better look.

"Still trying to figure that one out," muttered Tessa leaning back into George. She pushed him up the stairs towards the Common Room.

"Mr. Weasley."

They both froze at the slow drawl of George's last name coming from a darkened hallway in front of them. "And Miss Thornhill. Why am I not surprised?" said Professor Snape. He slowly walked into the low lit stairway.

"Professor," Tessa and George said in unison.

"It is ten minutes passed curfew and you're not in your Common Room," replied Snape.

"We were studying," said Tessa.

"Time keeping is still a responsibility even during this time of the year," said Snape ushering the two down the stairs.

"I have the slip to use your classroom," said Tessa reluctantly.

"That is only for my classroom, and I highly doubt you were actually there given your chosen party," said Snape glaring at George.

"You can check. I'm sure you'll find quit a few ingredients used including some of our own still in the cupboard," said Tessa. She side-eyed him to see his expression was still un-phased.

Tessa and George trudged back into the classroom they were in before. Snape quickly picked up his pace to the cabinet and yanked the door open. He picked through every bottle until he stopped at a jar labelled with Tessa's name on it. He walked back over to two pair and held out his hand. Tessa placed the slip on top and let it drop into his palm.

"I'm surprised you kept it this long. Should've used it long before this day, or so I presumed," said Snape ripping the note in half.

"We'll be heading back to the Common Room now, since we are thirty minutes passed curfew," said George pushing Tessa out the door.

"Don't leave in haste Mr. Weasley. I am still docking five points, each, from Gryffindor for this," said Professor Snape. He walked passed the table as both Tessa and George turned back around.

"That's rubbish," said the two in unison. "You can't do tha—,"

The door slammed shut before Tessa could finish.

"THIS ISN'T RIGHT," yelled Tessa throwing her book bag at the door.

"All right," mumbled George as he swiftly picked up Tessa before she threw herself as well. Tessa's foot kicked the door as George threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down," yelled Tessa as her bag slowly floated and followed the pair.

"MAKE THAT ANOTHER TEN," yelled Snape as he whipped his door open to find the disarray of a flailing girl and a book bag dodging Tessa's reach around George's head.

"Way to make a scene, but it would have been better after the O.W.L.S," said George cheerfully.

"I am quite proud of you though, never thought you had it in you." He continued his monologue of how happy he was to see this moment until they reached the grand staircase.

"Can you put me down now," said Tessa once he finished.

"I don't know. Will you throw another tantrum," said George tossing Tessa's bag away from them both.

"Maybe," said Tessa as George threw her off his shoulder and placed Tessa in front of him.

"I'm fine," said Tessa. She scooped her bag throwing it over her shoulder and trudged up the stairs.

"So are we going to talk about the tantrum," said George after a long silence of walking three flights of stairs.

"He told me the note was for other Professors, and if he ever caught me it would be okay," said Tessa quietly. "It doesn't matter. It's the end of the semester." George shook his head and mumbled little profanities until they reached the Fat Lady.

 _Hog Wallups._

The door swung open to reveal an array of students taking every seat and table in the Common Room.

"Like Percy's new password," said Tessa giggling after the door shut.

"Very creative," replied George walking over to Fred on the couch.

"Took you long enough," said Angelina with a smile. Fred's face lit up as well after seeing the two. He shut his potions book and scooted over to one side to make room for Tessa and George in the middle.

"We were delayed," said George placing his bag on the table.

"D'you get caught too?" Asked Lee. He walked down the stairs of the dormitories and sat on the arm rest next to Angelina.

"Walked Elizabeth back to her Common Room and was caught by Lupin." George and Tessa nodded.

"Lucky you," replied George. "Snape caught us." Tessa glared into the fireplace.

"Ten minutes past curfew," mumbled Tessa as Lee sat on the arm rest next to Fred.

"Oh that's way too long to be out," replied Fred sarcastically.

"Should've been here sooner," said George winking at Angelina.

Tessa sat on the couch longer than her friends whom departed shortly after the fire went out. She stared blankly at the fireplace until soft padding of footsteps stopped beside her.

"Come one Tessa," said an exhausted voice. Tessa glanced up at Hermione holding Crookshanks and stifling a yawn.

"Okay," Tessa responded. She grabbed her bag and lifted it to her shoulder. She followed Hermione up the stairs and to her dorm.

"Night," whispered Tessa.

"Night," responded Hermione continuing up the stairs without looking back.

Tessa quietly shut the door behind her.

"Good morning," whispered Katie. Tessa fell back against the door to reveal all of her roommates sitting around a pile of papers and books. Tessa's body vibrating the door startled her cat sleeping on the edge of her bed.

"Also your cat was missing for quit sometime. how'd you not notice?" Angelina asked lifting Nyx into her lap.

"She was with Cedric," said Tessa taking off her shoes.

"Only been together a month and it's already on to the next level," said Hannah giggling.

"Of course," said Tessa sarcastically at her friends. "Next month we'll be sharing homes with her." She sat down in between Hannah and Katie and pulled away notes from the center.

Rosie leaped out of Angelina's arms and walked over to her owner's lap. Nyx pawed the notes off Tessa's and fell over into her owner's body.

"She didn't even get comfy," said Angelina laughing at the cat who laid half way on and off Tessa's legs.

"She's a treasure," said Katie scratching the cat's hind leg.

"She is," responded Tessa stroking the cat's head. "I think it's time to go to bed too," said Hannah stretching her arms high above her head and clasping them together.

"I just sat down," stated Tessa.

"Yeah, but it's also three in the morning, and we have a test in six hours," replied Hannah stretching her back.

"True," mumbled Tessa quietly. She walked over to her wardrobe with a purring Rosie in her arms and nudged door open. She picked out her standard sleeping clothes and used her hip to shut the door.

She walked over to her bed and place Rosie at the end. She changed quickly and jumped into the warmth of her bed. She situated herself into her normal fetal position and reached to turn off her muggle lamp.

"Mew."

Tessa felt her cats pawing at her blanket before she could hear her and looked down to see Rosie trying to hide from the cold.

"Alright get in," mumbled Tessa as she lifter her comforter enough to let that cat dart into sheets. Tessa waited for Rosie to get situated and dropped the comforter over when she finally laid down.

She clicked the light off and shifted around again, with the help of her cat, and dosed off before the room fully went out from each of the roommate's' lamps or wands.

Tessa silently reached for her wand in the shadowed darkness. She felt the unique carving of the handle and grasped it quickly, pulling it back into the covers.

"Lumos," whispered Tessa illuminating the sheets. She creeped out of bed and tip toed over to her wardrobe.

"That'll do," thought Tessa while looking at her Athletic pants, trainers, hoodie and beanie in the mirror. She tip-toed to the door and pulled on the latch to unlock it. She cringed at the sound of the door creaking open until she made a wide enough gap for her to slide through. She shut the door quietly and lumbered down the stairs quickly. She leaped off the last step and jogged to the Common Room entrance.

"About time you showed up," said a voice to the right of the Fat Lady's painting.

"Glad to see you waited a little longer," replied Tessa sarcastically.

"Welp, let's get a move on," said Wood pushing himself off of the railing. "We've only got two hours until our final exams." He smiled broadly once he reached Tessa and walked passed her towards the stairs.

"So what do you have planned for the Summer?" Wood asked half was down the Grand staircase.

"Erm. Nothing much. Visiting family," said Tessa keeping her family "visits" as vague as possible.

"Well, I have a friend who wants to meet with me in two weeks in London, and I was wondering if you would like to come," said Wood hopefully.

"Yeah. Who's this friend?" Tessa asked coolly.

"Well he works for Puddlemore United," said Wood.

"Oh," replied Tessa with surprise.

"Yeah. Talked about you," said Wood vaguely.

"Really," replied Tessa leaping of the last step.

"Yup," replied Wood with a smirk.

"And?," Asked Tessa waving her hand around for him to keep going.

"And he wants to meet you," said Wood. "He saw the match where you dive bombed into the hoop, and he likes you." Tessa smiled broadly.

"Well I'll give'em a run for his money," said Tessa as she sprinted to the Herbology building and continued towards the Lake.

"Nice run," panted Wood as he stopped and the Herbology building. The sun began to rise over the horizon that created a soft glow over the lower half of the castle still hidden from the rays.

"But you still can't beat me," Wood smirked at Tessa who finally came to a stop beside him.

"Fuck off," panted Tessa bending over and placing her hands on her knees. Wood nudged Tessa slightly. Tessa laughed trying to recover her balance and pushed him back.

"Time to head back I suppose," said Wood helping Tessa regain balance.

"Yeah," mumbled Tessa walking towards the castle.

"Hurry up!" Tessa yelled across the Great Hall towards her friends. She ran down the stairs of the dungeons and speed walked to the potions classroom.

"Save us a seat," yelled the twins in unison trying to hold back a few of their fellow peers at the stairs. Tessa reached the entrance of the room first and walked over to their usual spot. Lee and the twins came second sitting on either side of her adjusting their bags next to their stools.

A hoard of students ran in seconds later wheezing from the stench that oozed into the room from the hallway.

"Oh god."

"It's horrible."

"Let me in! Let me in!"

Fred and George bowed slightly at the few people who glared into their direction or mumbled profanities at their table.

"Gotta leave the best for last," said Fred once Angelina and few other Gryffindors walked in.

"It was the best," mumbled Angelina through her sweater.

"More to come," said George proudly at the chaotic aftermath continuing to progress in the classroom.

Nine on-the-dot, the door slammed open to reveal Professor Snape barging in quickly and shutting the door with a swish of his wand. The loud bang echoed through the room and ended to a chilling silence with only the rustling of his ebony robes gliding against tables and the floor until he stopped at his desk in the front.

"There's no need for notes. Put them away," said Snape whipping around and leaning against his desk. "We'll start with Chapter four."

Snape walked over to the stand alone chalk board and wrote a list of potions. "I expect you all. To Finish these. By the end of this period," he drawled out the sentence until he finished the list. A soft groan of protest from the students forced Snape to whip around and face the students.

"Would you like more? I beg you try and finish at least one of these at the rate this class has been. You are by far the worst class I have ever had the privilege to teach for O.W.L.S. I'm even given you an easy test," he seethed the last sentence through his teeth as he stood straight and situated his clothes.

"This is ridiculous," said Tessa placing crushed herbs into her potion.

"It's not that bad," replied Fred whom was already on his third. The group groaned at him and rolled their eyes.

"You're the only one making progress," stated Lee nearly tipping over an open jar of nightshade.

"Just relax," said Fred tipping over a small sand timer and walking back to the cupboard.

"Easy for him to say," muttered Lee placing the jar far away from him and his potion.

"See wasn't too bad," said Fred walking out of the classroom with the group.

"You finished an hour ago," said Angelina placing her potions book into her bag.

"And now we are finished together even before the time limit is over," said George walking passed to stand by his brother.

"Not too bad," said the twins in unison looking into the room filled with Slytherin students struggling to finish their potions.

"How long do we have?" Tessa asked again looking around the hallway for other students.

"Erm, maybe two hours," said Lee looking at his watch.

"Perfect time for us to give last minute presents then," said Tessa smirking.

Tessa walked to Snape's closet first. She rearranged a couple of items until she found the ones she needed.

"Perfect," Tessa whispered as she stuffed the vials into her robes. She walked out of the closet and towards the classroom again. The twins leaned against the wall and stared at her with satisfaction as she walked past. She bumped into a a group of Slytherin Seventh years waiting for their exam to begin.

"Excuse me. Coming through," shouted Tessa causing a massive eruption of profanities and shoving as she tried to walk through the sea of Black and Green.

"Watch where you're going," said Flint holding onto Tessa.

"Just trying to leave," responded Tessa innocently.

"You can wait," he smirked as he shoved her towards the twins.

"Hey!" shouted the twins in unison running to Flint.

"What is going on here," shouted Snape over the noise in the Hallway.

"You three leave now," said Snape pointing in the opposite direction.

"So who's the lucky chum," said Fred as the shouting and laughter faded.

"Don't know," said Tessa shrugging. "Should find out by lunch."

The twins smirked and opened the trap door to the Astronomy Tower.

"So we're leaving in a few days," said Fred quietly once George shut the door.

"Yes," said Tessa in response.

"Would you like to stay with us. You know for a couple of weeks," said George. Tessa smiled.

"In a few weeks I'm meeting with a Puddlemore United…person," said Tessa.

"We know," said The twins in response.

"how could you know," said Tessa whipping around to face the two.

"We were hiding in the Herbology building," said George.

"Putting back last minute ingredients," said Fred proudly.

"Do you two ever sleep," muttered Tessa turning around and continuing up the stairs.

"Not during this time of year," responded the twins in unison.

The astronomy tower was silent.

"Looks like their done too," said Tessa looking around. The warm air blew into the trap door from a small breeze whipping through the building.

"And it's sunny," said Fred looking around trying to adjust his eyes.

"Rare sight," finished George as he shut the door.

"Mhm," responded Tessa and Fred in unison. The walked towards the stairs that lead back inside the castle. They speed walked to the Common Room entrance of the Gryffindor Tower.

"Hog Wallops," said the three in unison and barged into the small opening they ran to their respective rooms. Tessa quickly changed into athletic leggings and a Hogwarts Hoodie. She grabbed her broom leaning against her wardrobe and ran back towards the Common Room she beat the twins by a few steps and sprinted towards the exit.

"Astronomy Tower," she yelled behind her as she ran out the door and up the stairs. She didn't wait for a response as she skipped each step trying to reach her destination.

She ran up the stairs of the Tower to the open space. She jumped onto her broom and flew out of the gap in the tower into the open sky. She slowed to a stop and turned around waiting for the twins.

She watched them run up the metal stairs to the open floor, their ginger hair showing first and push off their brooms to exit the opening of the tower. She zoomed towards them and motioned them to follow over the castle and towards the lake. She zoomed low enough to touch the tree line of the forbidden forest and curved towards the water dropping lower and lower until she could feel sprays of water splashing against her feet. She looked at Fred, on her left, curve towards the beach.

She followed suit and slowly stopped to hover above the rocky beach staring at the castle.

"No school," said Tessa looking over the grounds taking it all in.

"Yep," said the twins in unison.

"Wanna race to the pitch?" Asked Tessa turning to look at the twins with a sly grin. They pushed towards the pitch in response and slowly picked up speed.

Fred and George laughed at Tessa falling behind from their head start until she zoomed past at a speed that they both were trying to get to. "Not fair," yelled the twins in unison.

The mud on Tessa's shoes flinging off due to the wind showed her kicking off with a much faster force than the twins whom tried to regain speed in mid-air instead. They leaned further on their brooms to pick up speed slowly closing the space between them and Tessa. She leaned in closer to her broom to gain speed, and, instead, it groaned at the unusual weight causing it to slow significantly.

"YA-HAS." The twins yelled zooming past Tessa.

"Damn," Tessa whispered in frustrating. She lifting her body and changed the brooms direction to fly towards the sky. She reached an optimal height and dove towards the nearing Quidditch Pitch. She leaned further into her broom, again. This time it was able to adjust to her weight and push faster towards the pitch at a record breaking speed, to Tessa anyways. She nearly crashed into the front of Fred and George's brooms while lifting her broom back into a horizontal alignment.

"Yes!" Tessa shouted as she passed the top of the stands. "And the crowd goes wild," she yelled at nothing while lifting her arms in the air and slowly lowering onto the chunky green grass.

"Well the imaginary one anyways," said Fred floating beside her. "Daring move," said George floating over them and placing himself across from Tessa.

The floated there in a makeshift triangle for a while. They took in the sun's rays while laughing at one another's jokes and relishing in the plans they had for the night.

"It's so simple," said Tessa. The cool, still dewy, grass engulfed her shoes as she landed and a thick coating of loosened blades caked her white Asic trainers as lifted her foot into motion towards the exit.

"We'll just break into her office and put it in an opposing House's Common Room," said Tessa laughing uncontrollably.

"It would be great, but it's literally impossible," said George laughing.

"Not to mention the time it would possess," said Fred elbowing Tessa.

"Anyway we should go check the Great Hall. It's nearing lunch," said Tessa walking out of the stadium.

Tessa smiled broadly from the lack of Seventh years at the Slytherin Table.

"What did you do," whispered Fred. Before Tessa could answer the group slumped into the Dining Hall leering at any students they made eye contact with and whipped out every profanity in the wizarding dictionary, and muggle dictionary surprisingly, that their minds could think of as they sat down at their side of the table.

Snape walked in through the Teacher's entrance and wiped of some black dust from his sleeve nonchalantly with his other hand.

"Guys you'll never believe what happened," said Lee briskly walking in.

"You know, I had to do my last detention by cleaning up after our exam, but one of Snape's students broke into his personal supple closet and stole some ingredients. They completely destroyed their potion with Snape's supplies. The entire room was covered in soot, and the class went into chaos as they tried to cover their own potions and books from the debris. It was beautiful," said Lee with a sigh and looking up at the ceiling.

"Anyways, Snape was furious and dragged the student out of class. He's still passing though sadly," said Lee digging into the array of food in front of him.

"How'd they know it was him?," Asked George.

"He had a few of Snape's ingredients in his bag. He kept on saying he had no idea how they got there, but he also said he wasn't going to not take advantage of the excess ingredients. The guy didn't even know what some of them meant. He just knew they were a part of a complicated recipe in his book!" said Lee excitedly.

"Snape inspected his wand and the last spell was "Alohomora", so he didn't have a lot going for him," said Lee quietly after being shushed by Hermione earlier.

"Now that was luck," said Tessa once Fred and George whipped their heads to look at her.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, wait. You did this?" Lee asked in a whisper. Tessa nodded slightly.

"Clever," said the twins in unison.

"But not as clever as us," said Lee with a smirk.

"I'm getting there," responded Tessa boring her eyes into Lee's.

"We'll see," said Fred as Tessa stood up.

"We will," said Tessa looking back at the twins as she walked towards the Hufflepuff table.

"Hello," said Cedric once Tessa sat down at the table. "Looks like you've had a Good morning." Tessa looked around see the old Beater of the Hufflepuff team smirking at her.

"Saw you flying. With the twins," he said again.

"We had a bit of a race," said Tessa mimicking his expression.

"Saw that you won," he responded. "Nearly knocked'em off their brooms to win."

Tessa laughed as he leaned back on the bench narrowing his eyes.

"You of all people should know that you've got to do anything you can to win," said Tessa. "After all you were signed to one of the top teams in the country and it not for your chivalry." The guy smiled broadly.

"So you read the paper," the beater responded.

"You look like a Saint, but you play like a Slytherin," said Tessa jokingly. She's remembered numerous times she and the twins encountered this guy on the pitch. He also broke Wood's jaw once. He felt awful after the fact, but in the heat of the moment she knew he didn't care.

"That I do," he said in response snapping Tessa away from her thoughts. "But you're calling the kettle black if you don't think the same about yourself."

The group laughed along with Tessa.

"You're right. I can't deny that," she replied with a proud smile.

"Can't wait to play you on the field again Miss Thornhill," said the Beater again jovially.

"It'll be quite a show," said Cedric putting an arm around Tessa.

"That it will," said Tessa with a smile. Cedric took a long gulp of his tea and began to get up.

"Well as you all know I am finished with my exams, so I will see you later tonight," said Cedric. He helped a confused Tessa up and motioned her towards the door.

"Oh, okay. Well bye guys," Tessa laughed along with the group as Cedric escorted her out of the room.

He walked her out of the Great Hall and towards the Herbology Building.

"Where are we going?" Tessa asked excitedly.

"You'll see," said Cedric grabbing her hand. They walked past the Herbology Building and towards the pitch.

"I'm glad I left my broom," said Tessa jokingly.

"Wait here," said Cedric once they reach the entrance of the pitch. He weaved through the skeletal frames of the stadium to the Hufflepuff Cupboard and opened it.

"You know I can see you," said Tessa. She watched him as he stared into the closet looking at each broom intently.

"Can still see you," said Tessa a little more annoyed. "Well then close your eyes," responded Cedric with a laugh.

She marched towards the cupboard weaving through the beams as Cedric did earlier.

"Patience my dear," said Cedric kissing her forehead.

"You know I have none," said Tessa wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Mhm," said Cedric quietly leaning into her.

"That one," said Tessa pointing at Cedric's broom.

"Good choice," said Cedric giving his broom to Tessa.

"Thanks," she responded giving Cedric a peck on the lips.

"That's it," yelled Cedric as Tessa walked towards the overgrown field she has graced with her presence for the second time today.

"For now," yelled Tessa over her shoulder.

She got on her broom once she reached the center of the field and kicked off flying towards the hoops closest to the Lake. She looped around to see Cedric coming up behind her full speed with a Quaffle. She tried to keep up with his speed and dove towards the hoop he aimed for, but missed the Quaffle by a few centimeters as it swooshed perfectly into the left ring.

"This is why I date you," thought Tessa while diving towards the ball and snatching it of the ground quickly.

"Let's play H.O.O.P.S," said Cedric once Tessa reached his level of flight.

"What are the stakes this time," said Tessa motioning, with her hands, the cutting of a filet. Harshly due to the Quaffle under her left arm. Cedric laughed and Tessa's chest filed with warmth.

"Each letter we gain we tell each other a truth," said Cedric with a grin.

"Better than last time," said Tessa after taking off her hoodie to reveal her red and yellow sports bra.

"You only lost your trousers and top," said Cedric looking at Tessa up and down.

"Yeah in freezing weather," responded Tessa as she flew away to gain speed for her attempted goal. All she could hear was wind and a faint sound of Cedric's laugh by the time she slowed to a stop.

She sighed and stared at the three hoops in front of her. "Don't think too hard. Don't think too hard," thought Tessa as she closed her eyes. She opened them and zoomed towards the center goal. She curved to the left slightly and watched Cedric follow her motion. She quickly changed direction nearly clipping Cedric's broom handle and threw the ball into the far right goal. It was a perfect throw until she felt the bristles at the end of Cedric's broom scratched her torso and smacked the ball towards the ground. It hit the pole just below the ring and plopped onto the dirt at the bottom.

"Fuck," mumbled Tessa ignoring the annoying pain in her left ribcage.

"Truth," said Cedric with a grin.

"I'm meeting someone from Puddlemore United in a few weeks," said Tessa not skipping a beat.

"Congratulations, but you would've told me that anyway," said Cedric high fiving Tessa.

"But it is a truth," said Tessa winking at her boyfriend.

"It is," said Cedric circling her and flying down to the ball. He picked it up and flew to the end of the field.

"Shit," said Tessa squinting trying to follow Cedric's flight patterns. He zoomed towards her in a zig-zag pattern until he reached the half mark. He curved towards the left hoop until he was close enough to reach Tessa if she stretched out her left arm and lobbed the ball over her head into the center hoop.

Tessa looked over her shoulder and kicked off Cedric's broom. Her left foot made contact and kicked the ball away from the hoop and somersaulting down until she briskly stopped ten feet above the ground.

"You're getting better" said Cedric as he floated next to her.

"Thanks," said Tessa reaching for his shoulder and giving him a quick kiss.

"I forgot your Birthday," said Cedric.

"The twins scolded me for an hour while helping me go to every store in Hogsmeade for your present. Angelina distracted you at the café." Tessa laughed along with Cedric.

"That's a good truth," said Tessa patting Cedric's shoulder and flying up to her post. "And I know they still do."

"Alright neck and neck," yelled Cedric. The sun hung low over the forest with clouds filling the sky. It was getting late and Tessa was growing tired.

"He forgot my birthday," thought Tessa. "He's the one who let Rosie go into the forbidden section." Tessa giggled at remembering her cat skittering between tables and knocking over all of Hermione's books.

"He's afraid of enclosed spaces; his friends let a Veela get him lost on his trip to Barcelona last year," Tessa shuttered at the thought.

"Alright let's do this," said Tessa. Neither one of them made a goal yet against each other. Blood was shed numerous times and there is now a massive grass stain on Cedric's bare back from his skid across the grass on a very close goal he made a few seconds ago.

She took a huge breath and raced towards the three goals. She curved to the right and flew towards the ground she zoomed up once she couldn't she Cedric from her peripheral vision and looked up. She barely missed Cedric's head with the end of her broom as she flew high enough over his head that she lobbed the ball towards the center hoop.

"That's it," thought Tessa as she saw it make fly through and fall towards the ground.

"Yes," yelled Tessa.

"Hoops," said Cedric with a smile and shook her hand. Tessa laughed at his professional demeanor, she flew towards the ground.

"So," said Tessa once they both placed both pairs of feet on the ground.

"Well," started Cedric looking at Tessa intensely. "I love you."

A ringing in Tessa's ears began to grow louder and louder. "I love you too," she could hear herself say. She felt Cedric's arms wrap around her into a tight hug. His sweat enveloped her face and mouth as she tried to push him away.

"Oh, sorry," said Cedric with a laugh. "I'm just so…I don't know," said Cedric still holding her.

"I know," said Tessa smiling at him. The sound of her voice went back to normal, and she could felt the heat rising away from her face.

"It's getting late," said Tessa looking at the sky above them.

"It's almost five," said Cedric.

"Let's get some dinner," said Tessa walking over to her hoodie lying on the ground in the middle of the pitch. She held it in her arms and followed Cedric to exit.

He placed the brooms back into the cupboard, and walked over to Tessa's side meeting her in the middle of the shadowed tunnel. Cedric placed an arm around Tessa's shoulder and put his free into his shorts pocket. Tessa looked at the ground and watched the shadows slowly fading to light as they were reaching the exit.

"It's getting colder," said Cedric.

Cedric slammed into the small wall of the tunnel. He tried to gasp in surprise but was engulfed into a kiss. He closed his eyes and felt Tessa's hands roam his torso down to his waist.

"Finally," thought Cedric as he tried to pick up Tessa. She obliged and he wrapped her legs around his waist. He pinned her against the wall and let his hands roam along her body.

Tessa forgot about what was intended to be a distraction, and turner her into wanting it to be more. She kissed him more passionately and let his hand reached higher to the front of her sports bra. He cupped her breast and groaned pushing into the wall harder. She gasped for air once Cedric obliged her consent.

"This is the first time someone's done this," said Tessa breathlessly. "Hoops."

Cedric grinned from ear to ear walking towards the Great Hall. Tessa blushed and situated her hoodie.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Cedric pulling her into his body. He kissed her passionately one more time.

"See you," said Tessa. Cedric opened the door of the Great Hall and motioned Tessa to go in first. She walked in quickly and towards the center of the Gryffindor table.

"You're glowing," said Angelina once Tessa sat down. Tessa blushed and watched Cedric sit down.

"Tell you later," said Tessa as she noticed more than Angelina listening to their conversation.

"You and Cedric," said Angelina excitedly. Tessa laughed and shook her head.

"Not IT, but he would've been okay with that," said Tessa laughing. She walked over to their bathroom and turned on the shower. She left the door open as Angelina paced back and forth at the door until Tessa closed the curtain. Angelina walked into the bathroom and sat crossed legged on the counter.

"So what did you do?" she asked without hesitation.

"He, uh, third base," Tessa stuttered.

"HE DID," said Angelina. "You know we know what that means. I mean I've told you about the time that beater on the Ravenclaw team had a go with me after the Quidditch match against Slytherin a few months ago. I know what you're talking about Tess it's okay," said Angelina with a laugh.

"Alright; Alright," said Tessa with any less comfort from before.

"How was it?" Angelina asked easing into the mirror behind her.

"It was good," said Tessa without hesitation.

"I mean he didn't seem experienced, but more passionate really."

"Well that's good," said Angelina with a smile.

"Do you think you're ready?" Tessa stared at the shower faucet for a moment.

"I don't know," said Tessa. "I know I did want that in the moment, but now I feel okay. Satisfied really."

"So that's why you're glowing." Tessa nearly jumped at the sound of Katie Bell's voice in the bathroom.

"Did that deed I see?" Hannah asked. Tessa could hear her roommate's wardrobe creak open and a loud squeak of the bed as someone sat on it.

"Not the deed," said Angelina with a smirk. Tessa didn't even have to see her friend's faces to know they were proud of her.

"So, I guess a congrats goes for both sexes," Tessa joked.

"Well of course," said Katie.

"Now Katie's that last one" said Hannah jokingly.

"My time will come," yelled Katie from across the room. All four girls laughed and finished getting ready for the end of the year party.

The Common Room was booming with people, loud music, and games of snap bang illuminating every corner of the open space. Lee Jordan was making out with a Sixth year girl in the darkest corner of the room.

"Even I know she's lucky on that one," stated Angelina as she walked past Tessa and into the sea of students.

"Tess!"

Tessa looked around to see Fred waving at her.

"Hey what's going om?" She asked confused.

"Need your help," said Fred with a smirk swaying towards. Tess rolled her eyes and led the way to the exit.

The Grand Staircase was silent once the fat Lady shut her door.

"Looks like everyone's having a party," said Fred quietly. He stumbled on a step and Tessa caught him.

"Uh, you...alright?" Tessa asked still holding onto Fred.

"Yeah don't worry 'bout me," Fred replied straightening his hand-me-down shirt.

"Alright," thought Tessa still watching her friend walk down the stairs with a slight hop to his step.

Once they reached the dungeons Fred stepped louder and more lazily. "Snape's gone from the dungeons around this time, so no need to worry," said Fred waving his hand.

"I know," said Tessa cautiously.

"Heard you had fun today," said Fred again winking at Tessa.

"I did," said replied tartly. She began to close herself off anticipating the turn of the conversation.

"Wanna know how I heard it?" Fred asked opening the door to the kitchens.

"Not now," said Tessa quietly.

"Oh come one," said Fred whipping his body loosely around. Tessa was finally close enough to Fred's face that she could smell the stench of fire whiskey on his breath.

"Looks like Hagrid's stash is still under his house," said Tessa staring into Fred's eyes.

"Lee's worse," said Fred ignoring Tessa's question. "But, at least, he had the balls to talk to that girl. Never knew he had it in em," said Fred whirling around again towards the massive barrels shrouded in darkness.

"He's always had it in em," said Tessa cautiously.

"But Cedric," said Fred a little louder.

"Not here," said Tessa firmly.

"But, Cedric," whispered Fred. "He's sober and he had the balls to do that in public. Should've been in Gryffindor with that bravery," said Fred jokingly. "And you." He slung the backpack over his shoulder, which looked visibly lighter than before, and walked back over to Tessa. He leaned on the other side of the doorway. "I want to know why you let him of all people do it."

Tessa glowered at Fred with such ferocity that she could feel her vein nearly popping out of her forehead. "I mean we had plenty of moments where I asked. I asked and he didn't," said Fred his voice rising in volume. Tessa shook her head.

"What?" yelled Fred.

"You only asked when you were like this," responded Tessa walking out of the kitchens. She reached the top of the dungeon steps with Fred hot on her heels.

"So can we talk about it now," said Fred quietly. "We are gonna talk about it tonight."

Tessa stopped and braced herself for Fred's body to slam into her. She looked around until she found an out of order bathroom and yanked Fred towards it.

Tessa slammed the door behind Fred and placed a silencing charm in the room. "Yes. You want to know why this all happened today," stated Tessa.

"He actually stuck with me. He tried to get to know me, and he didn't get mad when he found out that I would be spending a majority of my time near his village. It happened because he was actually excited to know that I would unexpectedly drop by whenever I could, and he actually enjoys our time alone together."

Fred stood in the middle of the room silent kicking his left foot at a raised corner of tile near his toe.

"He doesn't turn the lights out when he wants to make out with me, and he sure as hell didn't care that he did that on the fucking pitch where anyone could've walked on us. He actually wants me to hang out with his friends and get to know them rather than have me pretend to like a person for an hour and stuff a potion into their food." Tessa stopped herself and turned around to face the door.

"I'm sorry," said Fred. "For all of it, but that still doesn't mean you have to go around and put out for the guy you rebounded with." Tessa took in a sharp breath of air.

"Fuck you, Fred Weasley," she said shakily. She turned around and opened the door of the bathroom. She ran up the stairs ignoring Fred's footsteps trying to reach the stairs behind her. She skipped each step until she reached the Fat Lady.

"Don't bother my dear," said the Fat Lady after one look at Tessa's brooding face. "I'll hold'em off."

The door swung open and Tessa sighed as she walked into the room.

"Ouch," muttered Tessa as the door smack her ass sharply not letting Fred in. She walked into the crowd of people looking for a tall ginger haired boy. She finally found him patting Lee on the back by the fireplace.

"Tess! Tess, our boy did it. Got a kiss from Angelina," said George sharply. Tessa only high fived Lee and glared at George.

"Now?" Asked George. Tessa nodded her head.

"He didn't," said George sharply. Tessa shook her head again.

George and Tessa sat in the shadows until Fred was let into the Common Room.

"Fucking old prat," mumbled Fred as he pushed through the crowd. They both swooped out quickly and walked up to the Astronomy Tower.

"We made a new invention," said George. "It's these ears." He pulled out a set of badly molded jelly like ears.

"Can't do much, but if we can get close enough to the desired conversation we can hear what's happening." George shoved the prototype back into his pocket and looked out into the night sky.

"Fucking prick," muttered Tessa.

"We didn't know that's what Cedric would talk about," said George quietly.

"It's what humans do," said Tessa with a laugh.

"Who else knows," said Tessa looking at George. "And how much do you know?" George laughed and shook his head.

"Lee and well Ginny," said George shrugging.

Tessa rolled her eyes. "And you didn't reciprocate how in the hell did you get away with that?," George Asked. Tessa laughed along with George.

"Well I'm glad you're taking it a lot better than Fred," said Tessa.

"Everyone is," said George with a sigh.

"This is all him, you know," said Tessa. "I mean I moved on I'm fine and he just had to pull that." Tessa shook her head trying to calm down again.

"He snapped?" George asked.

"I don't know. Brought up past things," said Tessa.

"He's jealous," replied George.

"If you knew how many times Fred has wanted to be your first, in everything, you would be amazed at how many more times he tried." Tessa turned to face George.

"But he hasn't," said Tessa very confused.

"Not to you he hasn't," said George walking away from the railing. Tessa nodded her head and followed him back into the tower.

"Thanks," said Tessa once they made it back into the Common Room.

"Anytime," said George patting Tessa's shoulder. "I'll hold him off you should get some rest." Tessa nodded and stealthily walked back up the stairs to her room. She quickly shut the door and stripped herself of her clothes. Tessa hopped into her bed and drifted into sleep before she even felt Nyx snuggle up to her. She was exhausted and she had a day to prove it.

Tessa and Fred treated each other like they would on any other day. Fred acknowledged the understanding of the events the perspired over the course of a few hours that night, and he was lucky that Tessa spoke no more of it. The group walked though Hogsmeade buying snacks and last minute meals before leaving the town.

"It easy for you," mumbled Fred as Tessa followed the twins around Fuzzywigs.

"Can't you at least be nice to him," begged Tessa. "I'm tired of going back and forth, making plans, and scheduling times of day to do projects with you guys or with Cedric. Come on," said Tessa following them down each aisle.

"That's not going to happen Tess," bellowed the twins in unison. They split into opposing sides of the shop leaving Tessa in the center. George turned around and winked at her.

Tessa sighed and trudged over to George. "What are you getting?" Tessa groaned as she asked.

"Oh, glad you asked. I was hoping to get a few chocolate frogs, and some sour straws," said George beaming at her. Tessa rolled her eyes. She walked over to a basket at the end of the aisle and yanked a bag off the tray in the center.

"How many," stated Tessa as she opened the bag for George to place snacks in while he continued talking about all the sweets he couldn't decide on.

"We could try this one," said Fred behind Tessa.

He lifted a lid to a few muggle candies placed them into the bag. "Those aren't healthy for you," said Tessa with a laugh.

"And you think wizarding candy is," said the twins unison. "Such a shame." Tessa waved the twins away as they began naming off all the ingredients in muggle candy compared to wizarding sweets.

"Ohh Boom berry," said George.

"Very unhealthy indeed," said Fred sarcastically. He threw a couple of the Boom Berry lozenges into the sack and headed towards the counter. Tessa placed her bag as next in line on the table until Fred pushed it against his.

"This one's on me." He said as he pulled out a few more coins. He sheepishly grinned at Tessa who nodded with approval.

The last feast was to begin shortly and Tessa patiently waited in the Common Room with her pointy hat sitting in her lap.

"Alright who's ready to eat," yelled Wood running down the stairs.

"Seventh years," muttered Fred coming down from behind.

"Let's eat," replied Tessa as she got up and situated her robes.

The room was filled with bright colors of each house as students steadily flowed into the Great Hall. The Professors and Headmaster already seated at their own table watched the growing crowd settle into their respective placement throughout the room. Each professor stood to say their outcomes at the end were a success and how proud they were for each and every student.

Dumbledore was last and his speech was quick and very poetic if Tessa could say so herself. She cheered and roared along with her table once he announced the winners of the House Cup and Lee swore he could see Wood sweeping a tear away from his face as he sat back down in his seat. The dinner was going well and every one tried to sneak out leftover dessert once they were ushered to go to their dorms.

"Hurry up or we'll miss the good seats," shouted Ron hobbling across the courtyard toward the Express. Tessa laughed and watched him scoot obstacles out of his way to reach the open entrance soon to be filled with First Years.

"Glad to know he made," said George sinking into the comfy sofa.

"I know right," said Tessa sitting next to him.

"Fred is sorry you know," said George quietly.

"I know he's been telling me that for two days," said Tessa annoyed.

"He didn't mean to," George continued.

"Yeah," said Tessa scooting further into her seat.

"Fire whiskey," said the two in unison.

"It's okay," said Tessa smiling at George.

"Okay," he replied back.

They found a compartment big enough to fit all four of them with ease.

"Pays to be in an upper year," said Lee placing his and Tessa's bag on the rack above them.

"I'll say," said Fred stretching his legs across. Tessa laughed and pushed his legs off, so she could sit down.

"What'll be going for you Lee," said George once the train left Hogsmeade.

"I'll visit the states. Going on Holiday," said Lee with a smile. "Mum's got a few friends in the muggle radio business," said Lee nodding head. "I'll get to check them out."

"What of you Tessa?" Lee asked turning his body to face her.

"My parents are going on a dig in Romania," said Tessa.

"So I'm staying with the Weasleys, and then I have a meet up with a Puddlemore United agent. Thanks to Wood," said Tessa looking out the window.

"Brilliant," whispered Lee. "I'll be sure to comment on your games." Tessa laughed along with Fred and George.

"I hope you do," said Tessa. "I hope you do."


	13. Greeting and Awakenings

"Come on then."

Tessa woke to her Mother's voice. She looked up to see shaded light from the sun poking through the tanned portion of the high rise tent.

"You better be up by the time I get back," yelled Tessa's mother as he shut the tent flap. Tessa laughed while sitting up in her hammock. She stretched her tired arms and swung her legs over the side placing her feet into her into her fuzzy slippers.

The tent was used mainly for her parent's profession, and due to the size, Tessa slept on the top floor that had been used as the place of her parent's office. The lofted balcony was in the center of the tent suspended by cord and seven pillars. Six on the outside and one dead center that had floating stairs wrapped around, in a spiral, where each step gave slightly to your weight.

Tessa put on high-waist shorts and a jacket over her vintage band shirt, and walked down the spiral staircase with Rosie in tow. She skipped to the kitchen and pulled out a muggle brand of yogurt from the fridge.

"The Weasleys should be here," said Tessa's Father.

"Yeah," said Tessa with a mouthful of yogurt.

"And Cedric, too," said her Father ruffling the Daily Prophet open. Tessa smirked at Cedric's name and leaped off the counter walking over to the exit of the tent.

With yogurt in her left hand and her new Firebolt 2000 in her right she walked between elaborate tents until she found an opening between two that felt spacious enough to fly through. She threw her breakfast in the trash and leaped onto her broom rising quickly above the tents and weaving between the flags on top.

She reached a high enough altitude to see the forest on one end to the old cabin, with the nosy groundkeeper, and rolling hills on the other. She reached into her satchel for the letter the twins owled her the day prior. She pulled out the note with a map attached. She looked at the map to see little bumps scribed onto the parchment, which she assumes were tents, and a detailed circus tent near the forest edge.

"E42," said Tessa. She stuffed the letter into her pocket and dove towards the ground. She landed in another open space by the forest. Her feet skipped the dewy ground until she halted to a stop in the center of the square space.

She looked up at the horizon to barely see the tree line in front of her. She looked down at the ground to see pegs with the letter "F" on each marked space. "Damn," mumbled Tessa as she trudged through the mud towards section E.

After tripping over a tent's flower patch that grew too much over the night, she looked up to see signs littering the ground with sections E on every single one. "Finally," mumbled Tessa as she reached a sign with the Weasley's named poorly misspelled on a sign. She pulled open the tent flap to an eruption of greetings.

"Tess!" shouted the twins in unison.

"Good to see you again," said Mr. Weasley as he walked out of the tent.

"We're about to leave," said Ginny after giving Tessa a tight hug.

"Getting some fire wood," said George after hugging her quickly.

"Wanna come?" Fred asked, finishing his brother's sentence. "Of course," said Tessa with a smile.

The woods were surprisingly quiet compared to the ominous brown noise at the campsite. Owls hooting and fluttering between the trees made it more beautiful, to her anyways.

"How was the trip?" George asked while picking up a large twig underneath Tessa's feet.

"It was great," said Tessa laughing as she moving her foot from the pulling twig. "Met some family in France."

"Ohhhh, France," said Mr. Weasley as he looked at some bright green moss engulfing a fallen tree stump. "You're Father told me about them. Muggles aren't they? I'm sure you had a great time."

"They were nice," said Tessa with a giggle. "See where you're good looks come from then," said Fred with a wink as he pushed further into the woods with his father and brother.

"But—," yelled George.

"We were asking more about the training with Puddlemore," yelled Fred.

"Good for you," yelled Mr. Weasley. "You are coming home with us after the match?" The three men stopped and waited for Tessa's answer.

"I will in the morning," responded Tessa loudly.

"Good we'll hear more about it then," said Mr. Weasley.

The three trudged through the woods again leaping over fallen trees and snagging kindling they deemed worthy for their fire.

"How are you and Cedric?" Ginny asked quietly.

"To be honest," said Tessa. "He hasn't responded to my owls. Even when I made it back home he didn't reply to my letters to come and visit."

She slumped slightly thinking about her boyfriend's lack of effort.

"Bloody imbecile," mumbled Ginny as she hastily picked up a few twigs next to a rotting tree. Tessa nodded her head as she continued through the brush.

"If I had known…I would've have smacked him up the side of the head at that nasty…boot of a portkey. Would've never known who'd done it with that thing spinning you every which way," said Ginny angrily and snapping twigs with her thumb and forefinger.

"Portkey?" asked Tessa quickly.

Her body straightened as Ginny's bent over to look for more kindling. "Oh! He was with us on our portkey here. He didn't say anything to us. If that's what you were inferring," replied Ginny while lightly fondling a twig that was spared from her treacherous grasp. Tessa frowned and nodded her head.

"Figures," she mumbled.

"There you are!"

Mr. Weasley came wobbling out of the bushes with an arm full of large broken pieces of wood. "About time to head back," he said walking past the two girls.

"Yeah," said George.

"We're starving," finished a hangry Fred pushing passed the girls quickly.

The group hobbled out of the woods with arms full of kindling falling with each step they took. They all tossed it into a rusty cage Mr. Weasley bought at an "antique" store in their village.

"Alright kids," said Mr. Weasley hobbling out of the woods last. "Let's get breakfast started." He began fumbling in his pockets, which Tessa took as a cue to leave before her assistance was needed.

"I better go," said Tessa walking away before she was called upon to help.

"Aw you can't go now," said Fred frowning. He slumped slightly as Tessa continued to walk.

"I'll see you after the match," she yelled as the crowd grew thicker around her.

"That could be weeks from now," yelled the twins in unison. She laughed and waved goodbye until the crowd devoured her into the throng of people weaving through tents and by-standers at the ones with lavish exteriors.

With more people awake as the day passed on, the tents sprung to life with magic. Moss covered tents with fairies weaving through the thick hills on top one tent, an army of gnomes guarding a mini water fall at another, and fur lined tents with the frames made out of pure gold that were covering an entire section for a very large, and wealthy, family. Tessa didn't care much for the last one, so she pushed through the throng of people gossiping about the owners and gawking at the gaudy exterior at the same time.

She found an open space soon to be covered by a family of twelve Bulgarians and their crimson tents when she took the opportunity of the space and ran through the campground. Tessa leaped off the ground to hop onto her broom once she made it to the center of the increasingly small space. She soared into the air and slowed to a stop once she was at the same height with the tallest tent in that area.

It only took her a moment to find her section of the campgrounds. With the blank canvassed tents and muddy spots dotting every inch of them, she sped towards her home away from home. Tessa nearly laughed when the keeper didn't question their group as they walked through the gate with state of the art camping equipment. Tessa was the only odd one out with her high-waist light blue jeans, flannel shirt and Doc Martens, but she still fit in well to the muggle's liking.

She landed at the entrance of the tent and pulled the flap open.

"How was the walk?" her Father asked as he tried to hold Alfred in the tub caked with dirt and grass.

"It was nice," said Tessa sitting at the island.

"Kinda like a recap after being gone for waaaayyy too long. Mostly from procrastination," said Tessa reaching for an Orange and peeling off the skin. Her Father chuckled and scrubbed Aflie until his fur was covered in foam from the soap.

"Well at-least it was fun", said her Mother as she looked up from her book in the corner. Tessa stuck out her tongue and her mother chuckled.

"It's almost time for the game," said her Father as he quickly rinsed and dried the dog with his wand. "Mrs. Poplov has a doggy daycare and we can't miss it." Tessa laughed and grabbed the leash on the table.

"I'll take him dad," said Tessa waiting for her Father to finish.

"Thanks dear," said her mother.

Tessa waved Goodbye to her parents as she walked the opposite direction of her crew. She weaved between tents, mostly due to Alfie yanking the leash the entire way, until she reached an eccentrically shaped wagon covered in over lapping posters with Viktor Krum's face on them. An old woman sat by a fire with a pipe in her mouth only looking up at Tessa when she coughed to announce her presence. The old woman mumbled and pointed at the entrance of the wagon.

Tessa bowed slightly and climbed up the wobbly steps to the door. She turned the knob and the door whooshed inward so quick that it dragged both her and Alfie into the nomadic home. Her knees dragged along the polished floor, until the door banged onto the adjacent wall. A gaggle of girls began to giggle as Tessa struggled to get herself and the dog up from the waxed floor.

"Ah! Little Thornhills."

A beautiful woman stood up from behind the counter and motioned for Tessa to come forward. The interior of the wagon was huge. It still had a rustic touch of traditional Gypsy values, but in no way was it old. It was crisp with state of the art magic and technology. "Jesus Christ," mumbled Tessa at the women in front of her. Each one ranged in beauty with little differences between them.

"Alfie," squealed the girls as the German Shepard wagged his tail and whimpered with glee.

"Iz been a'while," said the older woman coming from behind the counter and reaching for a hug.

"Mrs. Poplov," said Tessa gasping for breath as the busty woman let go.

"Me nephew iz playing in ze turnment don't you know," she said proudly.

"Who dos'nt know," said one of the beautiful blonde girls holding onto Alfie's leash.

"Of course," said Mrs. Poplov shaking her head.

"See you," said Tessa as she backed to the door before being stuck in a conversation, again, about her nephews increasingly growing career. The door shut quickly behind her as the old bat by the fire scoffed at the busty brunette's sight.

"Feisty that one," said the old woman motioning to Alfred leaping at the window by Tessa's head.

A puff of smoke billowed out of her mouth, and, loomed for a brief moment in front of her face, forming into a butterfly that flapped its smoky wings towards the sky. "Nice trick," said Tessa waving goodbye. The old woman nodded and puffed more billows of smoke less magical as Tessa walked with the crowd of people heading towards the forest.


	14. The World Cup

The crowd dispersed through the Forest as the bright lights of the Stadium illuminated through the trees. Owls chirped and landed on their owner's shoulders giving last minute mail or begging for a treat. Hermes, the family owl, swooped down at Tessa's eye level and landed in a tree to the right of her.

Tessa stopped and raised her arm for the bird to land. Hermes landed quickly, and placed a small letter in Tessa's free hand. He gracefully flew back into the trees chirping with other owls leaving their owners to carry on once more. Her stomach dropped as she recognized the hand writing that hastily scribbled her name on the tea stained parchment. She stuffed the letter in her pocket and began walking with the crowd, again, through the brush.

Once into open field, on the other side, Tessa was stopped by security.

"Ticket please," said the man quickly. She pulled the gold foiled paper out of her pocket and handed it to the man. He gave her a red and green foil ticket in return and motioned her forward. She pushed through the heavy crowd towards a metal staircase lined with chalk boards scribbling advertisements. Once at the top, she waltzed through private security, and quickly weaved through the much smaller crowd towards the Press Box across the way.

"Lucky you lot get privileges, sometimes, half-blood." Tessa whipped around to look for the source.

A thin platinum-blonde teen stood next to his Father as they sauntered through the crowd. "Asshole," mumbled Tessa as she spotted press box her parents would be residing in. She opened the door to an eruption of laughter.

"To Charlie," yelled a young technician.

"To Charlie," replied the rest of the crew as they clinked their glasses together in celebration.

She sat in the, for now, empty front row, and watched the field being quickly painted by maintenance workers before the game.

"Care for wine my dear," said Tessa's mother and she sat down next to her daughter.

"Sandra," said Tessa's Father looking over his shoulders.

"Just one drink every three hours Jim," replied her Mother. Tessa laughed and took the blood-red wine from her mother's hands.

"From Germany," said Sandra. Tessa spit out the drink and coughed slightly from the bitterness of the fermented juice.

Once Tessa settled in again she noticed that the scoreboard changed to two zeros and the opposing team's names. "Oh shit," thought Tessa as she leaned forward in her seat trying to catch her breath.

She scanned the air and finally looked towards the ground to see a group of beautiful women sauntering onto the field. The silencing charm her parents put on the box was still in effect, but Tessa was still attentive of the women dancing and weaving on the field with men hanging off he sides of balconies to get a better look.

"Veela," thought Tessa to herself. Even without hearing their musical spell she was still in a trance by their movements, until they walked to one side of the field.

"Ah now that their done," said Tessa's mother. She picked up her wand of the side of a chair, and, with a flick, the roaring boos of the crowd enveloped the tiny space like a tidal wave.

The game was intense, to say the least, and Tessa forgot about her occasional, yet timely, glances towards the Veela. Only when the Bulgarians scored and the enchanting women took over the field did Tessa catch a good looking at the beautiful women.

"They're not as pretty once they show their true side." Tessa jumped at the voice right behind her. It was Helena, a Field Tech from her parents' crew. Her piercings and bright hair were in full view now that all of the Ministry guests were no longer visiting the Press Box.

"Don't worry your parents will be okay with it," she said leaping over the seat and adjusting her green flannel shirt next to Tessa.

Tessa grew bright red. "I have a boyfriend," she said quickly. Helena laughed and popped the cap off of her beer with a snap of her fingers.

"Doesn't matter," replied Helena while taking a sip of her beer.

"Doesn't it," scoffed Tessa.

"No," replied Helena wiping her face with her sleeve.

"Wanna know why?" Tessa sat quietly watching the Irish Chasers whizzing the Quaffle past the Bulgarian Keeper.

"AND ANOTHER GOAL FOR THE IRISH."

"Alright, I'll take your silence as a yes," said Helena watching the crew cheering, drunkenly, at the score. Tessa smirked and finally looked at Helena. She sat up in her chair and unfolded her legs to rest on the ledge of the open Press Box. "You can still like men and also like women as well."

Tessa blushed again. "I've been around you long enough to see you grow, every Summer I might add, from you, only, checking out men to, also, checking out women." Helena took another sip of her beer and waited for the group to walk passed and get another round of drinks from the back of the call box.

"Maybe I'm just checking out their style," responded Tessa as an Irish chaser whooshed past them with a gust of wind that knocked over many empty bottles into the box and some towards the field until they stopped in mid-air and floated back onto the balcony in their rightful place. Helena laughed in response and took a small sip from her beer.

Tessa sighed and looked out onto the field at the play being foiled by the Bulgarians. "They'll know, eventually," said Helena. "And I know they won't care." Tessa nodded.

"I don't know how I feel about it," said Tessa quietly.

"You'll know. I mean you obviously felt something. You were more entranced by the Veela than some of the men in this call box," Helena finished and took a sip of her beer.

"But some of the men like men or their ma—"

"Doesn't matter," Helena interrupted. "The point is it that you're only hiding from yourself." Both stopped their conversation for a second while watching the two teams getting rougher as it took longer for a goal to be made.

"I'll try," said Tessa sipping on the same, now warm, glass of wine her mother gave her hours ago.

"That-a-girl," said Helena pushing on Tessa's shoulder as she tried to hold herself up.

Tessa nearly fell over at the unexpected weight, and began to laugh as Helena chugged the rest of her beer and reached for another once she made it to the back. The conversation helped Tessa remember the letter she had in her pocket. She pulled it out, and smoothed the wrinkly parchment on the arm of her chair. She read her name again and grazed over the writing.

"You're stalling," thought Tessa to herself and she read her name over and over again.

She took in a deep breath and exhaled as she flipped the parchment over and broke the seal on the side. She smoothed it once more as she watched the Bulgarians score a goal and flipped it open in her lap.

 _Tess,_

 _Sorry I haven't written to you in a while._

Tessa scoffed and rolled her eyes. "More like ignore my letters for a while," she mumbled under her breath.

 _I would like to meet with you before school if that is possible. I have much to discuss, and I hope you'll accept my invitation. We can catch up. Please respond as soon as you're with the Weasley's._

 _With Love,_

 _Cedric_

Tessa threw the note onto the floor and pouted in the seat with her arms crossed. "Fucking twat," thought Tessa as she bored her eyes into Krum's floating body high above the field. "I've cried over him! FOR THREE FUCKING MONTHS."

"He's literally in a call box right now, in this arena, knowing that I have read his letter between the time of the opening ceremony to now, and he knows that I….," Tessa closed her eyes, lobbed her head back onto the seat, and took in the sound of the cheering crowd. "He knows, and he's cheering along with his friends and family. Just like me."

She opened her eyes while placing her elbows on the two arm-rests. She took in a deep breath and exhaled sharply as she eased further into her seat. She kicked her bare feet on the balcony and watched the Ireland Chasers gracefully weave across the field to the Bulgarian Keeper. "Well," she thought to herself. "At least, I know too."

"GOAL FOR IRELAND ONCE AGAIN!"

The Press Box cheered and stood up in their seats hugging one another over her motionless body. Wine and spirits were passed around Tessa as she snagged a beer into her hands while the group chanted for the winning team's victory lap. Leprechauns were soaring into the air and doing their signature dance with the rhythmic chant.

The Irish Chasers were weaving through the air taking in the glory they deserved. And Tessa, with a slight smile on her face, popped the cap off of her bottle and held it to her lips.


	15. The Ministry

Green and White enveloped the campsite as Tessa helped her parents get Alfred inside the tent. "We'll see you in a few minutes alright," said Jim as he waved goodbye to Tessa.

"Alright," yelled Tessa excitedly as she walked away immersed in the festivities refusing to die down.

The tents were in full force as the night raged on. Gnomes battling one another on grass knolled tents with crowds placing bets on the winners, waist sized pieces of Wizard's Chess sets that shook the ground with every step, and lavish tents spewing green and white sparks from the top floors as the crowd cheered on.

Tessa took in everything while weaving through the crowd. Over the laughter, she heard screams in the distance. Smoke billowed higher in the sky from extinguished fires as people began to slow their chatter. "Bloody hell," said Tessa as a family elbowed her out of the way and pushed through the just as confused crowd.

The family continued to push through as more people began pushing her out of the way. "Shit. Shit. SHIT," mumbled Tessa as she began to run with the crowd as close to the tents as she possibly could. She leaped onto a grass-covered tent climbing to top.

On the tent she could see the culprits coming from behind her. It was a black-robed group huddled close and growing bigger by the second. A flash of red light hurdled in her direction, and Tessa dove towards the ground in time for the top of the tent to burst into flames.

Tessa scrambled to her feet and began to sprint in the opposite direction of the group that was quickly gaining on her. She hurdled over fallen stoves and chairs as she weaved through the trampled tents. To her left she found an opening that would lead her towards the forest. She sprinted towards the tree line as she heard the crowd of panicked wizards grow behind her.

The Forest grew darker as she ran into the thickness of limbs and bushes. She haphazardly shoved vines and thorns out of her way as she carelessly pushed through the difficult brush. A small opening placed her onto a path that was mostly clear of plants, but crowded with frantic silhouettes.

"Harry!" Tessa stopped and whirled her body around looking for the direction of the frantic voice.

"We lost'em," said another. "I thought they were right behind us."

Tessa jogged towards the set of familiar voices that were slowly leaving her area into more chattered darkness.

"Of course you thought they were right behind us. You probably tripped Ron and carried on your way thinking they'd catch up," said the frantic first voice in a much more annoyed tone. "You're right! I would trip my brother during a time we're trying to hide from terrorist assholes. Yeah that'd totally be the smart thing to do."

"Fred!?," yelled Tessa. In response, Tessa only heard silence. She groaned slightly and continued wading through the darkness. "Who are you looking for?" Tessa jumped and lunged into the tree beside her.

"Erm. My—," Tessa stopped for a second as she saw two girls her age walking towards her. And Tessa sighed with relief. "Looking for your boyfriend?," The blonde girl asked. Her accent was stereotypical to the SoCal girls she heard on American TV shows.

"Yes," said Tessa quickly.

"Was he with his family? Because we just saw people walk passed us arguing about losing a group," said the ebony-haired girl standing near Tessa.

"They all had really bright hair," said the brunette on her right. If so he's really cute."

"Thanks," said Tessa exhaustively.

"Not a problem. They went that way you should be able catch up," said the brunette happily as she pointed behind her. She jogged passed the two girls. At a distance Tessa noticed they're group the two left in the shadows. The silhouettes of eight girls were chatting away about the tournament each one sporting "Salem Witch Academy" on their pants or shirts.

It was significantly darker now that the trees absorbed any of the light passing through the tree line. Voices were scattered throughout the darkness calling for their friends and family.

"Fred," yelled Tessa loudly as she lumbered through the forest with careless footsteps. She grew tired of the light footed steps she made earlier. No one was going to attack her.

"Tessa?" A girl's voice frantically shouted in the distance.

"Ginny," yelled Tessa in relief her pace slowed to a stop after hearing footsteps quickly coming towards her.

"Tess," said Fred. He yanked her into his embrace and held her close to his shaking body. Her body was freezing. He was sure it was from walking through the woods. It was significantly colder once the campgrounds were out of site.

"How many time have we told you to wear a jacket," laughed Fred.

"Not enough apparently," said Tessa sarcastically. Her voice muffled by Fred's tightening embrace.

He released his hold as Ginny pushed him out of the way to hug Tessa tight too.

"Are your parents alright?" Asked George who'd already taken off his coat and wrapped it around Tessa's shoulders once Ginny released her embrace.

"They should be fine," said Tessa as she put the jacket on and slumped onto a fallen tree.

"Where's everyone else?" Tessa asked the group as they sat alongside her.

"Charlie, Bill, and Percy are at the campsite helping The Ministry," said George shaking his head. "We lost Ron, Harry, and Hermione. We thought they were behind us."

"That's why we slowed down," finished Fred.

"I'm glad we did though," said Ginny as she tilted her head to look up at the empty sky.

"Me too," mumbled Tessa as she rested her head on Fred's shoulder.

"The group should be gone by now, so we should be heading back towards the tent," said George quietly as her stood up and began walking towards the sliver of light seen between the trees.

"You're right," said Ginny as she leaped off of the log following George's footsteps. Tessa stood and quickly caught up to George's strides.

"You're more than welcome to stay with us," said George to Tessa as he wrapped an arm over her shoulders.

"If my parents don't find me I just might," thought Tessa as she nodded her head and wrapped an arm around George's waist.

"George you're freezing," said Tessa in a tone that Hermione Granger would be proud of.

"Is fine," said George shrugging his shoulders. "Got you to keep me warm at least." Tessa smirked as she pulled herself tighter against his freezing body.

"We could switch," mumbled Fred annoyingly as he eyed Tessa in the same jacket he wore on his own body. The light from the campsite grew brighter as the forest and clumps of people grew thinner.

As soon as they reached tree line, cries of panic and terror erupted in the darkness behind them. It was enough to stop the four in their tracks and retreat quickly into the woods again.

"Wha- What's that," said Ginny pointing into the sky. Tessa, George, and Fred quickly looked up to see the sky morphing into a skull.

"That's our cue," said Fred as he lightly pushed Ginny and Tessa towards the tree line once more. George pulled out his wand and stood in the back as Fred did the same in the lead.

Coincidentally enough they were still close by the Weasley's tents as they clambered out to see the carnage from earlier. Tents were still on fire, entire campsites trampled, and yet their two tents stood strong.

"About time you showed," said Charlie as he pulled the flap of the tent open and ushered the kids in.

"Miss Thornhill," said Charlie with a bow.

"Tessa!"

Before Tessa could step a foot inside of the tent her Mother pushed her out with a forceful hug. "We were so worried about you," said her Father coming for a hug at the side.

"I'm fine guys. We're fine," said Tessa quietly.

"You're parents were worried sick about you," said Percy nasally over a towel on his face.

"Now that's a better greeting," said Tessa to Charlie who stifled a laugh. His body grew rigid quickly in his seat as he glared at Charlie over the bloodied towel.

"Now's not the time," said Charlie.

"Speaking of your parents," said Jim. "We need to head back. Thank you for finding her." He turned to Fred and George and shook their hand, and he turned to Ginny for a high-five.

"We're going to get a head start. Have some business to take care of," said Sandra. She placed a hand on Tessa shoulder and left with her Father quickly behind her.

Charlie casually motioned Tessa out of the tent and into the frigid open air. "Oh George," said Tessa quickly as she turned around taking off his coat.

"No need," said George quickly. "I'll get it tomorrow."

"Alright," said Charlie as he closed the tent flap behind him. Tessa shifted the jacket back over her shoulders and stared at the view surrounding them.

"Your parents aren't too far," said Charlie as he pointed at, currently, the highest tent in the area.

"So where were you? Bill's injured, Percy sort of injured," said Tessa as she shrugged slightly.

"Helped the Ministry," said Charlie quickly. "How about you?" Charlie asked diverting the conversation.

"Eh," Tessa paused with the urge to ask more questions, but she decided against it. "I was taking in the scenery when that group walked through. Thankfully, I found three red-heads in the forest."

"Great beacons we are," said Charlie with a chuckle.

"Yes," said Tessa looking down at the mud and grass caked over her new trainers.

"You though," said Charlie side-eyeing Tessa. "What's a witch without her wand? Even if you are still young, you always need it." Tessa shrugged her arms.

"Save it for my parents," grumbled Tessa as she saw them both quickly walking towards them.

"Thank you Charlie," said her father. He held out a scrolled piece of parchment which Charlie quickly grabbed and placed into the waistband of his jeans.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Charlie to Tessa as he waved goodbye and briskly walked back to the Weasley campground. Tessa was ushered by her parents to keep moving as they sauntered towards their site as well.

It was morbidly nice only hearing the sounds of panicked voices in each tent they walked past. "Were those supporters?" Tessa asked quietly. She rubbed the rim of George's jacket as the echoing of the agitated voices slowly died down as they walked further into the campground.

Her parents stared at each other for some time until her Father turned towards Tessa's direction.

"Yes," said Jim as he stepped over a broken chair. Tessa nodded her head quickly and fiddled with the edge of George's jacket again.

"Death eaters coming out to play," said Tessa sarcastically.

"You could say that," said her Mother with a sigh. Her parents faces never changed from the same worried look they greeted her with at the Weasley's tent.

"I'm going to learn more about them," thought Tessa as she took a mental note with the quickly growing list of things she needed to do at Hogwarts.

The campground was unscathed, minus an extinguished fire and a few tables missing. "Good job," said Tessa looking at the singe marks from spells that hit the bewitched canvas.

"Just needs a wash," said Sandra cheerily.

"Of course mom would be happy," thought Tessa to herself. Sandra spent weeks prepping the tents with anti-Muggle charms and protection spells "just in case".

"It's like you knew you'd need all this protection," Tessa laughed.

"Mother's intuition," said Sandra jokingly as she opened the tent flap. Immediately upon the canvas opening, Rosie and Alfred pushed their way out of the tent excitedly weaving between their owner's legs.

"At least they're okay," said Tessa quietly and she picked up her beloved cat.

"Alright," said Jim as he closed the tent flap shut quickly. "We are all going to the Weasley's tomorrow. We need to talk with Arthur about this and figure things out."

Tessa nodded and carried Rosie upstairs. At the top, she quickly leaned over the railing, and watched her parents pick up books and parchment while quickly going their room closing the curtain behind them. Silence enveloped their side of the tent as her parents placed a silencing charm in the room. Tessa sighed and leaned off of the balcony.

She plopped into her cozy bed as she took everything off and put on George's coat over her knickers. With the light still on in her parent's room, Tessa knew they weren't going to bed anytime soon. She stared at the ambient glow until she felt a furry tail swoop underneath her nose. She pushed her self around until both she and Rosie were comfortable enough in the tiny bed.

"There," said Tessa quietly as she closed her eyes and pushed George's jacket up and over her nose allowing it to cover half her face. Within minutes she heard the rustling of her parents' curtain.

"Get up," said her Mother quietly in her ear.

"Is something wrong?" Tessa asked quietly as she opened her eyes quickly to scan her surrounds.

"No dear, it's time to go," said her mom soothingly. She felt her mom push off of her shoulders and slowly step down the stairs until she reach the bottom.

A subtle glow of light illuminated the entire tent. She could hear her parents talking about delays of some sort considering Tessa was too busy packing to care.

"We'll take care of the rest later," said her father as she heard him place a plate on the counter. Tessa pulled on the clothes she wore the night before yet wrapped her flannel shirt around her waist to reveal a cropped shirt underneath.

She lumbered down the stairs to hear a sudden silence which was very different from the ambient sounds of tidying the kitchen she heard a moment earlier.

"You're putting that shirt on as soon as we leave this tent," said her Father sternly, and continued his pace of cleaning.

"It's not that bad," thought Tessa as she reluctantly nodded in agreement.

She quickly ate some cereal and helped her parents tidy the living room.

"Grab your bags," said her Mother quickly as she exited the tent. She followed her Mother and closed the tent flap discovering that the sun still hadn't risen over the horizon. Tessa groaned quietly as her parents waved their wands and with a swish the tent collapsed onto itself. It began to fold neatly until it was small enough to be thrown into her Fathers field pack.

"We'll be apparating," said her Father as he quickly walked passed to help the rest of their crew with their tents and bags.

Tessa's stomach gurgled with anxiety as she waited for the rest of the crew whom were shoving their belongings into their Ministry approved extension packs.

"The group will be going to their respective homes so they're all fine," said her Father breathlessly. He picked up his pack next to Tessa's feet and waited for her Sandra to finish the last of her Goodbyes.

"Alright," said Sandra as she motioned Tessa to her side.

"Get Alfie," said her mother quickly as Tessa held his leash tight.

"Alright. Place your hand on me," said Tessa's mother holding out her elbow. Tessa shakily took her Mother's arm and steadied her herself between her mother and Alfred.

"Sorry, love," said her Father as he stood on Sandra's left.

He glanced at his motionless daughter sympathetically, and, with a pop, Tessa landed next to Molly Weasley's flower bed. She quickly let go of Alfred to throw herself into the cushioned dirt expulsing the contents in her stomach.

"Mr. Thornhill!" said Charlie as he closed the door shut of the Burrow briskly walking in their direction.

"Sorry for the intrusion," said Sandra as she hugged Charlie first.

"And for the flowers," mumbled her Father.

"It'll keep the gnomes away," said Charlie as he helped Tessa out of the dirt and towards the open door that Molly left open for the rest of the group to come through. "Best keep this between us."

"Oh I'm so glad you're here, Sandy, it's been weeks since our last dinner!"

Tessa could hear Mrs. Weasley and her Mother standing in the kitchen chatting over tea and muffins.

"Arthur's already off dear," said Sandra over her shoulder as she heard the group close the door behind them.

"I'll take you to the rest of the lot," said Charlie as he ushered Tessa towards the stairs.

He lead her to Fred and George's room that was filled with chattering and unpacking.

"Mornin'", said Tessa with a groan.

"You look like shit," said George.

"Just apparated," said Tessa defensively.

"Threw up in Mum's garden," piped in Charlie as he sauntered down the stairs once more.

"Bugger," said Fred throwing his hands into the air.

"Woulda been a good show," finished George pulling his coat off of Tessa shoulders and placing onto the tiny coat rack between their door and the bathroom door.

"Can you guys…not right now," groaned Tessa as she fell onto Fred's bed and curled into a ball.

"That put out?" Ginny asked as she looked up from the book she was reading.

"Apparating's a nasty business," said Bill as he lumbered down the stairs. "And," he said putting his head in the doorway. "It was a good show." He winked at Ginny and continued down the stairs as Tessa threw Fred's pillow at the now empty doorway.

"Oh come now, its fresh those sheets are," said Fred sarcastically.

"Don't be so dramatic," said George. The twins sat on either side of her and helped her up into a sitting position.

"We'll be playing some Quidditch soon," said Fred.

"I don't know if I'm up for it," mumbled Tessa as she reached for the ice cold water on Fred's trunk at the foot of his bed.

The group left the Twins' room and sauntered down the stairs. "And what is it that Charlie helps you with?" Tessa looked over to see Hermione sitting with her mother having a cup of tea. Hermione's eyes widened as Sandra explained as much as she could about her work without giving too much information.

Her Father said his Goodbyes to the boys before briskly walking over to Tessa and kissing her on the forehead.

"I'll see you in a few days," said her Father as he walked into the Chimney and with a puff of smoke he was off to the Ministry.

The Weasley boys sauntered out of the home and called for the rest to follow. "Your family is quit cool," said Harry as followed Tessa and Ginny to the backdoor.

"Yeah. They're alright," said Tessa jokingly.

"I meant to ask Tessa," said Hermione quickly trying to catch up to her, Harry, and Ginny. They reached the porch outside of the Burrow when Hermione finally caught up to them. "How're you and Cedric?"

The twins stopped abruptly, a few feet away as Harry quickly continued towards Charlie and Bill who reached for Harry's Firebolt in excitement.

"I'll tell you later," mumbled Tessa as she motioned towards the eavesdropping twins.

"Oy!" yelled Tessa. "I see you two."

"Oh we'll know soon enough," yelled Fred. Both of the twins waved her off and continued their walk towards the family orchard.

"Very soon," said George as the twins both gave each other a malicious grin.

The day grew darker as the girls sat in the living room while Mrs. Weasley made dinner and tidied the kitchen. "So," said Hermione quietly once all of the boys were upstairs wrestling over who would shower first.

A loud bang and a roar of laughter erupted from Fred and George's room which immediately signaled a successful product going off for the boy's entertainment. Mrs. Weasley stopped momentarily and merely shook her head and continued with her work.

"He sent me a letter," said Tessa taking a sip of her tea trying to finish the last page of her book.

"A letter," said Hermione quickly.

"Shhhh," said Tessa quietly as she listened for more clutter and footsteps from upstairs.

"Sorry," whispered Hermione. "But a letter? Continue." The young witch hastily closed her books shut and waited for Tessa to do the same.

"Alright," muttered Tessa as she closed the book and placed it next to Hermione's "completed reading" pile. "That's a good book by the way," finished Tessa as she pointed towards the pile.

"Yes it is," agreed Ginny sitting down with a hot cup of teas and a plate of cookies.

"That's great, and I would like to read it later, but—,"

"The letter I know," laughed Tessa as she sat cross legged in the old chair and waited for Mrs. Weasley to round the corner again to finish up the last of the dishes for dinner. "He said we needed to talk."

"Oh no," said Hermione quickly.

"Oh yef," responded Tessa who nibbled on a cookie and placed it onto the plate to the right of her armchair. "I figured it was over after not hearing him for three months."

"That arse," mumbled Ginny quietly.

"It's alright," said Tessa assuring. "Really."

"I'm fine," said Tessa again as Ginny and Hermione merely stared at her until she gave the affirmation once more. "It's like, I already had a head start. Now it's just closure."

"Right," said Hermione relaxing back into her seat. "Closure." Ginny nodded curtly and opened the new Quidditch magazine Harry let her borrow.

Fred had chills all over his body. Not from the success of his extendable ear prototype working for the first time, but also from hearing the news Tessa offered them. "Looks like you need to get on that George," said Bill jokingly as he walked away from the group of men huddled around the tiny ear hanging from George's hands.

"Not me," said George with a smirk.

"Ahhhhhh," said Charlie and Bill in unison. Fred merely brushed it off and sauntered over to the ready-made table in the center of their room.

"Oh bloody hell," said Ron walking out of the steamy shower. "I get the shower first for once and I miss something."

"That's what you get for being greedy," said George with laughter from the group again.

"We told you you'd miss out," finished Fred as he helped George stuff the extendable ear into a pocket of one of their coats in the rack.

Bill chuckled as he opened up a fresh pack of Snap-bang cards, and began dealing six hands on the trunk between Fred and George's beds. Fred ignored their banter as he shuffled around the room hiding their projects in conceivably obvious places. In the dirty laundry, behind the window curtain, and between various knick-knacks on their shared bookshelf.

"But now that she's freshly single," continued Charlie as he sat down next to Bill picking up his hand of cards. "Best be getting on her good side during school."

"We already are," said the twin's unison and they sat at the edge of the beds and lifted up their cards dealt to them.


	16. Sixth Year

"Fifteen letters she sent," mumbled Ron as he and Harry passed Tessa's compartment. "Wouldn't even send mum fifteen letters."

Tessa stiffened her body as she glared at Fred and George. She whipped around and poked her head out of their cabin. "Didn't your mum teach you not to eavesdrop," yelled Tessa at the back of Ron's head. He mumbled something to Harry and pushed further into the ever growing crowd of students.

"You can't get mad at us Tessa," said Fred with a smirk. "Found out on his own."

"Don't say one word about it," said Tessa vehemently as she grabbed for Rosie's cage and speed walked toward the exit with the twins' laughter echoing behind her. She braced the wind and icy rain as she ran clutching the cage to her chest.

Fred and George caught up beside her and pointed at Lee waving his arms near a covered carriage. Fred ran passed her and opened the door. "Ladies first," yelled Fred as he bowed slightly.

"Thanks," shouted Tessa as she quickly leaped into an open seat, and waited for the twins who seated shortly after her.

"Something's happening I know it," said Fred to Lee once George shut the carriage door.

"Me too," said Lee excitedly. "That Malfoy prick was talking about something great happening in the changing rooms," said Lee annoyingly. "Mostly bragging about how he knows more than any of the other students." He rolled his eyes and shrugged as the carriage lurched forward.

"MY FATHER—," shrieked Tessa in a horrible imitation of Malfoy. The three boys roared with laughter that blurred the sound of the gale force winds and clapping of rain against the windows.

"My Father will hear about this Thornhill," roared George waving his wand around flimsily.

"Such a prick," chuckled Lee who leaned back into the seat holding his aching stomach.

Within minutes, lights illuminated the forest to show Hogwarts in plain view. Lee leaped out of the carriage first and sprinted to the entrance. "So much for chivalry," yelled Fred as he grabbed Rosie's cage and sprinted after him. George helped Tessa out of the carriage and grabbed her hand as the rain blinded both of them temporarily.

Tessa looked up from the ground when she felt stone steps underneath her feet and the from lack of ran soaking their robes. "Chivalry eh," said Tessa as she reached Fred trying to open Rosie's cage.

"I got the cat!," said Fred defensively as he finally pulled the latch free. Rosie sprinted out of her cage and up the Great Hall stairs. "Best be getting' a move on," said Fred as he motioned Tessa to look up.

She looked up at the ceiling to notice Peeve's looming behind a Gargoyle waiting patiently. From the shaking of his shoulders Tessa could tell that he was snickering quietly, with one hand covering his mouth and the other holding a bright red balloon. Tessa nodded and quickly followed the three boys into the Great Hall doors.

It was perfect timing. Tessa assumed, as she heard students screaming in the distance. She seated herself close to the front on Fred's right as George sat on the left with Lee sitting across from the three of them. She glanced over at the Hufflepuff tables and caught Cedric's eyes boring into her. He immediately averted his gaze turning a light shade of pink. Tessa glared at his profile as he began animatedly talking to a 7th year Tesa recognized from their Quidditch team.

Tessa jumped after hearing three girls diving into the doorway. Some of the students near the entrance laughed at the three struggling to get up and scurrying to the Ravenclaw table.

"Prick," muttered Fred that made Tessa smile and nudge him slightly.

"Look who's talking," said Angelina seating herself next to Lee as she smiled at Tessa. "Looks like we have a lot to talk about."

"Yes," said Tessa quickly. "There is."

Tessa watched each of the soaking students waddle to their respected tables. She watched Harry having a one-sided conversation with a younger student and glanced at Hermione ruffling her fingers through her frizzy hair.

"Don't worry so much," said Fred.

Tessa whipped around to see Fred staring at her. "I'm not," said Tessa quietly.

"You know you can tell me and George anything right," said Fred smiling at her.

"Yeah. We can talk about it later," said Tessa smiling back.

Fred took in a breath as if he was going to say more until the doors burst open to reveal soaked first years shivering towards the front of the room for the Sorting of Houses. Tessa felt a wave of relief envelop her as Fred's attention was diverted to the front of the room.

The next morning, Tessa looked into hallways before entering them. She ate earlier than the rest of her friends, and she made sure to steer clear of any hall ways that she knew Head students would patrol before the first classes of the semester.

She sighed as she looped around the castle once more time to see more students in the Great Hall. She was flooded with relief and jogged up the stairs to the Common Room to grab her things before Potions. She trudged up to her room and grabbed her bag off of the bed and walked down the stairs, out the door, and towards the Great Hall for the fourth time this morning. She rounded the corner of a staircase and saw the twins waiting for her at the bottom.

"Fourth time is it?" Asked Fred with a smirk on his face. Tessa rolled her eyes as she stopped in front of them.

"Ready?" George asked with a smirk on his face.

"Ready as I'll ever be," replied Tessa as she turned to follow the twins to the dungeon.

"You've really got to stop doing that," said George to Tessa quietly as the halls grew thicker with chattering students.

"I don't know what—,"

"No," interrupted George as he side-eyed Tessa. "It's time to face it." He watched Tessa grow rigid in her movements as she weaved through the crowd towards the class door.

"Fine," Tessa muttered as she opened the doors to the Potions classroom.

Fred and Lee sat down at a middle desk fit for four. George and Tessa followed suit and grabbed their cauldrons. Lee sat on the far left and Fred on the third chair leaving the far right seat open and a seat in between Fred and Lee. Tessa clutched her cauldron close to her body as she weaved through the ever growing crowd and decided on sitting in between Fred and Lee considering a group of boys, leering at the girls tucking their skirts in before carefully sitting on the high bar chair, were sitting across from them. Angelina luckily sat behind Tessa along with Alicia Spinnet and two Ravenclaw girls.

"Hey! Tessa," said Felicia Ansley as she placed her bag under the table. "Heard you had a great Summer with a certain Quidditch player." She winked at Tessa who grew bright red with anger.

"Wood was such a great chaser," said Alicia from over her bag oblivious to the tense girl in front of her.

"Yes he is," said Tessa quickly as he slumped into her chair and turned around covering her slightly.

"So how was your Summer Felicia," said Angelina enthusiastically averting the girls attention from Tessa.

"Oh it was great!," said Felicia quickly turning her body towards Angelina and Alicia. "My brother and I followed the World finals up to the Cup, so cool."

"Chill," muttered Fred as he nudged Tessa to look up at the as Snape glided in the classroom. His robes hit George's hair and a few students on the right side of the classroom that made Tessa stifle a laugh.

Snape whipped around towards the classroom looking for the laughter. In return, monotonous faces stared back at him waiting for the class to begin. Snape scoffed and whipped the blank blackboard around to reveal a detailed diagram of dates and assignments. "This is your syllabus for the first half of this semester," hissed Snape as he glared at the students who groaned at the vast list of potions. "Each of you will be working delicately on every single potion and accurately presenting them to me before this semester ends. Do I make myself clear?"

The class nodded slightly with a few angered students glaring at the extensive homework placed upon them. "Some of you," said Snape as he wove the syllabus around to show the blank board once more with much protest from students yet to finish copying the potions down. "Will be dealing with potions they've already have practiced on some students from my previous years." He glared at Tessa as he walked down the open aisle to the back of the class.

Tessa went stiff feeling his eyes still on her as he walked back to the front with a cauldron and a mass of ingredients floating behind him. "Today however we will be leaning Golpolatt's Third Law."

Tessa could feel the tension in the room suddenly relax as the students pulled out their books and began fluttering their pages. She scanned the table of Contents for the right page instead of flipping through her book.

"Miss Thornhill!"

Tess jolted in her seat that made some students laugh. She looked up to see Snape boring into her.

"Since you've hadn't moved in quite sometime from the same page perhaps you can tell me what I just said about the reasoning for Golpolatt's Third Law," seethed Snape in his monotonous voice.

"Would you like an abridged version," said Tessa curtly.

A few students snorted as they continued to scribble the notes on the already filled Blackboard before they were erased. "Abridged," snapped Snape which caused the students to scribble their notes even faster.

"Golpolatt's Third Law is the method of finding and creating antidotes to certain poisons," said Tessa quickly. "It uses a series of methods with one ingredient found in a single poison that can also be used to create the antidote. It depends on the concept of whether there is one or multiple poisons in one vial. This process help—,"

"That'll be enough," snapped Snape as he whipped around to erase the board once more. Tessa sighed and looked down at her blank sheet of parchment. "I will give you point I suppose," said Snape as he turned back to the class. "Now memorize the page you have turned to. You will be reading the entire chapter along with the potions I will be showing you today. You will then write an essay on each potion and why Galpolatt's Third Law is useful for each. Close your books."

Tessa slammed her book shut hard and placed it on the ground as did some other students. "Place your cauldrons in front of you, and get these exact ingredients and materials that I have placed infront myself and take them to your assigned seats," said Snape slowly.

Tessa left the table first and walked over to their supply lockers. Fred, Lee, and George followed as they watched her measure out ingredients for the four of them, and place them in her satchel. They walked past Tessa and grabbed the tools needed to crush, stir, and mix the ingredients in the cauldron.

They made it back just in time to see Snape beginning the lesson before even half of the class were able to finish retrieving materials. "This is going to get interesting," mumbled Angelina to Tessa as she and her table quickly placed their ingredients and materials in a disorganized manner to try and catch up to Snape's lesson.

The lesson ended with most of the class losing points rather than gaining them, and left most of the student supply closets bare. "We're gonna die," muttered Tessa as she and her peers walked out of the dungeons defeated.

"It's only first and second period, and I want to go take a nap," said Angelina sadly. The rest of the group mumbled their agreements and they parted ways to their respective classes. Tessa and Angelina trudged to ancient runes as the boys quickly walked towards the library and whispering in hushed tones.

"Figures," mumbled Tessa as she lost sight of the twins in the crowd. "They're so obvious with their plans."

Angelina nodded as she wove between a group of blank faced first years visibly lost. "I would try to do the same," said Angelina confidently.

"You're lucky you don't have to," mumbled Tessa enviously. "I do hope you get it though."

Angelina's walked picked up speed as they reached Ancient Runes and clambered in with the rest of the students. "This'll be easy," muttered Angelina as she chose a two-person desk in the center of the classroom.

"Are you free next period?" Asked Tessa quietly as more students sat in their chosen seats.

"Yes," said Angelina who began pulling out parchment, ink, and a quill.

"Perfect. Cedric has been ignoring me,even in school," said Tessa quietly. She watched her friends face change from anger to confusion and curiosity.

"I'll tell you later," said Tessa quietly as she caught the eye of two Hufflepuff boys seating themselves at the desk to the right of her and Angelina.

Angelina nodded in response as Professor Babbling strolled to the front of the class.

"Settle down," said Professor Babbling as she place her wide brimmed hat of the teacher's desk and turned to the massive blackboard. "Today will be somewhat of an easy day I suppose." She began writing words and numbers on the board with blank lines beside each one. "If you could pull out your Runes dictionary, and your Syllabry we shall learn what each of these words represents. You will be given approximately five minutes for this task."

"Shit," muttered Angelina under her breath as she copied the words down while Tessa flipped through the Dictionary quickly.

"I see some of you are working together," said Professor Babbling joyfully after a minute and a half or scribbling and page turning. "Five points to each house. I suggest the one whom are working alone should work with their desk partner."

For an hour this ensued until the end the class was given 100 terms to translate and write an example of how they would be used in a sentence for homework. Tessa and Angelina trudged out of Runes towards the library.

"No wonder we're given so many free periods," mumbled Tessa as they opened they doors to the library.

"Ancient Runes isn't until Friday, so I suggest Potions first," said Angelina quietly as they walked past students already studying for their classes.

"Sounds good to me," said Tessa as she placed her bag on an empty table. She quietly walked towards the massive index in the middle of the library and began looking for books on antidotes and their uses with poisonous counter-parts while Angelina set up their table.

Tessa walked back with an arm full of books to see the twins sitting with Angelina and talking quietly.

"Bout time you showed," said George jokingly.

Tessa rolled her eyes and place the book on the table. "And you should actually be studying," said Tessa as she snatched Fred's notes from the table.

"Manners!," said Fred annoyingly as he watched Tessa rummage through their notes from their previous free period.

"Aging potion. Nice," whispered Tessa as Angelina walked away from the table. She read the surprisingly detailed notes with some materials crossed out along with new materials written beside is. It wasn't as messy as their normal notes which would have been splattered with ink and merlin knows what, but that'll happen soon enough.

"I have all of this," said Tessa quietly as she read the ingredients.

"Could you help us," said Fred.

Tessa looked up at Fred staring at her with a grin. George and Lee acted like nothing was being said as they copied Angelina's notes from potions.

"Sure," said Tessa with a smile. "We have the same free periods so that shouldn't be a problem."

"So are you going to tell us about the asshole or not," said Angelina as she sat back down with a armful of books.

"He's ignoring me. Didn't respond to my owls and he still hasn't tried to talk to me here in person," said Tessa annoyingly.

"What a ballsy prick," said Angelina shaking her head.

"Yeah," said Angelina opening her potions book.

Tessa nodded without looking up from the copying a potion onto a crisp piece of parchment.

The rest of the free period was filled with homework, and less about extra curricular activities. All left the library for lunch that was also very bland in the circumstances of students complaining about their morning classes and the homework that came along with it. Arithmancy was relatively easy considering the class walked out with only one chapter to read along with fifty problems to solve, and even then that homework was the least amount of worry with finishing on time.

"When do you want to meet for Runes homework?" Asked Angelina as they walked into the crowded halls.

"Good, because we need your notes," said George jokingly as he opened the door to their DADA class.

There were already a few students that arrived early and sat in the front desks. They were quietly whispering among themselves and staring at the office on top of the stairs. "I wonder how the old coot's first day is going to be," said Lee quietly as Tessa sat next to him.

"Dunno," replied Tessa. "My parents told me stories about him when he was in his prime." The frantic whispers at the front of the room turned into deafening silence. Tessa sighed and threw her bag on the floor loud enough to jolt a ravenclaw girl to converse among her friends once more. The front half of the class dully filled with whispers once more and Tessa leaned back into her seat as she watched the rest of the filling quickly.

"Tell me later," whispered Lee as he watched some Slytherin boys shove their way to the 2nd row of desks to the giggling girls. Lee rolled his eyes and grabbed for his book underneath his table.

"You won't be need books today," said a raspy deep voice that caused Lee to drop the book quickly into his bag.

Silence filled the room except for the dull thudding of Professor Moody limping to the front of the class.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Moody with seriously. "This class will not be a walk through the fields. You will learn the process of the Dark Arts and also learn how to defend it."

The class grew deathly silent as they patiently waited for Professor moody to speak again.

"Today we will learn about the Imperius Curse, and how to resist it," said Professor Moody as he pulled out a spider in a jar and placed it on the table.

"Shit," whispered Fred as he leaned forward in his seat.

"Up; up; up," said Professor Moody as he made the students form a line in the middle of the classroom.

Each student one by one tried to resist the curse and failed as they danced on top of desks or ran around the room.

"Thornhill," said Professor Moody as a released the curse on Lee whom found himself underneath two desk and tried ti wriggle his way out. "The famous hatstall of recent. McGonagall told me about you."

Tessa immediately felt a wave of energy hit her that made her feel euphoric and at ease.

"Run," said the voice in her head as she lunged forward slightly.

"That's not wise," thought Tessa to herself.

"Run to the window and back," said the voice. The fog in her mind grew thicker as Tessa pushed it away, and tried to keep her body still with some lack of her feet lifting up and down as if she was stepping in place.

"Finally," roared Professor Moody.

Tessa felt the fog lifted from her mind and she fell to the floor breathing heavily.

"One of you finally withstood! Well done Miss Thornhill. Ten points to Gryffindor!," said Professor Moody joyously.

The class clapped slightly as Fred helped Tessa to her feet.

"Here Miss Thornhill," said Professor Moody. He shoved a vial of bright pink potion in her hands. "Will give you a boost of energy you'll need it, and here's some water." He poured a glass of water from the pitcher he had placed on his desk.

"Thanks," said Tessa as she took the potion and the glass of water. "Alright next," said Professor Moody as Tessa sat in her seat and watched for the rest of the group to finish.

"That was so sick," said Lee as the four walked out of the classroom.

"I know right!," said George as he helped create a path to the great hall.

"You did great Tess," said Fred as he patted her on the shoulder.

"Thanks," said Tessa as she sipped on the last of her water.

"So about that proposal on studying tonight wanna meet after the…eh…you know," said Fred as his cheeks flushed.

"Yeah shouldn't take long," said Tessa non-chalantly. "I have to met her after dinner anyways."

The group walked into the great Hall just in time to reach an adequate seat before the room filled with students. Hermione sat at her bench seething until she saw Tessa sitting beside her.

"I'm creating a club," said Hermione immediately. She pulled out a piece of paper and a muggle pen as she shoved it in front of Tessa on the table.

"S.P.E.W.," said Hermione matter of factly. "It's—,"

"No one wants to hear about it," said Ron gruffly as food popped onto the table.

"This is what I'm talking about," said Hermione pointing at the food. "It's not right!"

She and Ron continued to argue as Tessa slowly pushed the paper back in front of Hermione. The twins chuckled as they watched Tessa click the pen and place it on top of the paper unnoticed.

"I can't believe you sometimes," said George joyfully.

"And what's that supposed to mean," replied Tessa jokingly as she reached for a stack of rolls in front of Lee who was to enveloped in a Fifth year girl that decided to strike up a conversation with him before they reached the great Hall.

"You're too nice," said Fred and he looked at Tessa intently.

"To our friends. I support anything my friends decide to do. Within reason," said Tessa as she glared at the twins who side-eyed each other .

"But our reasons are supportive too," said George. "Now that they actually are being put into action."

"Our pranks are for something bigger. We've been working all Summer," said Fred no longer able to hold his excitement,

"I don't—,"

"We'll tell you later," interrupted George as he glanced at Harry who quickly grew too fascinated by half empty food on his plate.

"Later it is," replied Tessa as she dug into the dessert that popped onto the table in front of them.

"I wonder how she's doing," said Fred as him and his brother left the Common Room and shut the painting behind them.

"I'm sure she's fine," said George for the second time that evening. He rolled his eyes as his brother continued into another scenario of Tessa's well-being. There are too many to count that he has already discussed with George in the past hour so there was no need to listen to this one.

"You know she's dealt with meaner guys than Cedric," said George annoyingly. "You need to see that she can take care of herself."

"I know," said Fred. He slumped slightly as they both trudged down the stairs. "I'm just worried." Fred glared at George before he could say anything.

"Yeah you are," said George as they saw Tessa enter the library as they turned the corner of the hall.

Fred mumbled something, but it was too quiet for George to hear.

"You'll figure it out soon enough," said George as he closed the Library door behind them.


	17. Chapter 17

"How's the arsehole. Talked to you yet?" Asked Angelina copying Tessa's notes from Arithmancy.

"No," said Tessa shaking her head. She stared at the empty field that once held the Quidditch pitch. "It's crazy that we won't play Quidditch this year."

"I know," said Angelina gritting her teeth. Tessa chuckled as she looked down to see the scribbles on Angelina's parchment growing thicker and wider each stroke of the harshly pressed quill.

"Hey captain," said Tessa looking back at the flat open field.

"I'm not captain," said Angelina quickly. "Not yet."

Tessa rolled her eyes, closed her book, and placed it into her bag. "It's time for dinner," said Tess. She watched Angelina quickly scribble the last few paragraphs.

"You can take them with you," laughed Tessa getting up from her makeshift seat.

"Thanks," said Angelina gratefully. She stuffed Tessa's notes into her bag and jiggled the objects around until it could clap shut.

Both of the girls trudged up the hill towards the Herbology building without looking back. "Have you tried talking to him," said Angelina as she reached the greenhouse buildings.

"No. I have no reason to," said Tessa with a sigh.

"Yes you do," said Angelina sternly. "The guy literally dumped you by ignoring you. That's not okay." She shook her head causing her ponytail to sway back and forth over her shoulders. "It's cruel how he ended it."

"You're right," said Tessa quietly. "But I'm giving him the space he wants. I'm not going to bother him." She side-eyed Angelina who looked as though she was about to explode.

"You have more self-control than I do I suppose," said Angelina softly. "But that still doesn't give doesn't give him the right to treat you that way. It's unacceptable, and if you don't, at least, tell him how much of a prick he is, then he'll do it to someone else." Angelina's tone grew softer as more students began to breach their line of sight.

"You're right," said Tess shaking her head. "I have to talk to him. At some point." Angelina nodded her head proudly.

"Last year, you would've chased him down the moment you laid eyes on him. What's gotten into you?" Asked Angelina jokingly.

"I don't know. I guess I don't feel as bad that it ended. I'm okay with it, now," said Tessa shrugging her shoulders. She glanced at a few Hufflepuff girls, in Cedric's year, quietly muttering to one another staring at her.

"You weren't too excited about your first date with him last year," said Angelina with a smile. "More relaxed than us. Katie and I were ecstatic." She nudged Tessa who laughed quietly as the crowd of students filed out of the greenhouses.

"I wonder what we'll be having for dinner today?" Asked Tessa averting the conversation once they entered the castle.

"You're not having anything."

Tessa and Angelina whipped around to see George walking up to them. Angelina laughed as she walked from the two and merged with the crowd entering the Great Hall.

"Aw come on," said Tessa exasperatedly as George lead her up the stairs. "This better be important."

"You'll see," said George smirking. Tessa stared at George for quite sometime until she tripped over a step nearly falling to the floor.

"Careful now," laughed George as he wrapped an arm around Tessa's waist helping her back up. "I know I'm great to look at, but I didn't think you'd swoon over me." Tessa glared at George as she situated her skirt and stomped faster up the stairs with George smiling behind her.

"In your dreams Weasley," said Tessa over her shoulder. She smirked at George leaping two steps at a time to catch up to her.

"Always," said George passing Tessa winking at her over his shoulder and turned towards the Hall of Hexes at the correct floor.

"Did Fred burn his hair off again," said Tessa as she picked her fingernails.

"No," said George as he stopped at the study room door. "Even better."

The door swing open to reveal a giggling Fred and a first year sitting with his back facing the entrance.

"Oh this is so wrong," said Tessa sternly. "I told you guys not to mess with the first years!"

"I'm not a first year," squeaked the teen as he turned around to face Tessa and George.

"Lee?" Asked Tessa perplexed.

"Yeah. About time you showed," said Lee whose voice changed in pitch with every word.

He looked exactly as he did his third year at Hogwarts. His clothes too big for his body.

"Ha-how did this-," sputtered Tessa.

"-It's simple really," interrupted Fred as he lead Tessa into the room so George could shut the door.

"Aging potion," finished Tessa waving him off and walking towards the bubbling cauldron. She glanced into the cauldron and laughed slightly. "You know it's supposed to be green right?"

Lee crossed his arms over his chest and huffed in response as he glared out the window across the room.

"Well now we do," said Fred sarcastically. "Had no idea until you pointed that out." He walked over to the pink stained notes next to the cauldron and lifted a clean sheet from underneath scribbling "GREEN" on the top of the sheet. "Here." He handed Tessa the sheet and grabbed his bag next to Lee's feet.

"We need to research and perfect the potion by tomorrow," said Fred as he glanced at Tessa.

"No, No, No," said Tessa shaking her head quickly. "We need to take him to Madame Pomphrey." All three boys groaned in protest.

"Tess," groaned George. "You know that if we do that Dumbledore will know what we are up to."

"He always knows what we're up to," said Tessa annoyed.

"Enough with the conspiracies," squeaked Lee. "No Hospital Wing."

"Guys, this is serious," said Tessa shaking her head.

"We know," said the boys monotonously in unison.

"Which is why," said Fred happily. "The two best potion students are going to save the night!" He put his arm around Tessa's shoulder and winked.

"Fine," said Tessa reluctantly as she shoved Fred away and grabbed her things. "We need to go to the library now. It'll take all evening."

"Good thing it's Friday," said Lee happily. "The prefects are too busy worrying about us sneaking out than students at the library."

"Lee's right," said George. "They never check our rooms like they used to."

"And they always checked our room," said Fred annoyingly. "Like we'd keep our precious projects there." He scoffed while Lee and George chuckled gathering their things.

"Which makes it easier to hang out there," said Lee grabbing his cloak from the back of a chair.

"They'll never suspect a thing," said George happily grabbing his bag on a table. He waved goodbye and shut the door behind him and Lee leaving Fred and Tessa alone for the first time since Holiday.

"So," said Fred quietly. "Shall we go to the library?"

"Yes," said Tessa happily and she linked her arm with Fred's and strolled out the door.

The library was ominously quiet. Other students skipped dinner due to the rhythmically turning of papers emanating the room.

"Merlin's beard," whispered Fred into Tessa's ear.

Her body shook with chills as she quickly moved towards the back of the library away from the entrance and front desk with a very brooding Head boy glaring both of them, until they disappeared into the maze of bookshelves.

"Chilly?" Asked Fred as he passed Tessa to grab an empty table surrounded by books, yet to be placed in their proper spots, hiding the two from the walkway.

Tessa shrugged in response and quietly placed her bag onto a chair as Fred sat next to her doing the same.

"Here," whispered Fred. Tessa looked down to see a homemade "F" embroidered sweater in his hands.

"Thanks," said Tessa her cheeks burning as she put on the sweater over her t-shirt.

"Anytime," whispered Fred. He winked at Tessa whom quickly looked at the table as she pulled her arms through the sweater. She quickly got up rummaged through her bag for her wand. Once found, she stuffed it into her, left, back pocket allowing the oversized sweater to be bunched on one side and briskly walked away with rosy cheeks.

"Damn Weasley," thought Tessa as she walked over to the index chest in the center of the library. She pulled out her wand and with a swish drawers flew open revealing sic cards ranging from again potions to cure-alls.

She looked around and carefully jotted down their placements and quickly put them back in their proper place. She folded the parchment and stuffed it into one of her front pockets.

"Found some."

She whipped around lunging back into the index drawer causing an eruption of noise to echo throughout the building. Fred stifled his laughter as the room grew in silence with only the crackling of wood burning in a distant fire place.

"Best get a move on then," said Fred as the stomped of quick paced feet grew closer. He took the parchment out of her pocket and walked towards the first books location.

Tessa quickly followed in shock as she stared at the back of Fred's torso. He stopped occasionally reading the note and looking up at the symbols/names sprawled at the top of the shelves continuing forward until he found the rights shelves for each book on the list.

He passed off book after. Book to Tessa until six were bundled into her arms. They silently walked back to the table and sorted three books between both of the to thumb through.

"I'll take the cure and formalities book," said Fred. "You're better at research." Tessa blushed and nodded as she passed the three books about cures Fred.

"I feel like we need more research imposed on aging potion," said Tessa anxiously. Fred chuckled as he put his hand on Tessa's arm.

"I have faith in you," said Fred seriously.

Tessa looked up at Fred and nodded. "Yeah," said Tessa her face turning pink.

Fred let go of her forearm and opened "Cures for Brewing Mistakes" and flipped through the chapters until she found one interesting.

"Tessa," said Fred quietly.

"Mhm," said Tessa attentively scanning the pages her cheeks getting redder.

"Are you okay? You look hot, I mean. Your cheeks are flushed," stammered Fred rubbing his hands together. "You can take off the sweater, if you want."

"Oh, um I forgot I was wearing it," mumbled Tessa. She took off the sweater and placed it on her bag.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Asked Fred chuckling slightly. He watched Tessa open her three books at once, nearly spilling her ink across the table.

"Careful," said Fred grabbing the ink and placing it between both of them. "I actually forgot mine."

Tessa giggled nervously as Fred's smile fell to confusion. Tessa stopped laughing and placed the stopper on the bottle. "We can share," said Tessa quietly turning to her books and focused intensely on one in front of her. She rested her elbows on either side of the chosen book placing her head on her hands.

"What the fuck is wrong with me," thought Tessa scanning the pages she aimlessly opened up to earlier. She glanced at Fred's forearm next to the ink bottle, yet to moe. "Shit. He's staring," thought Tesa nervously. She stares at the blurred pages as the words were in and out of focus rhythmically. "How can I use this book." She lifted her head from her hands and glanced at Fred, who was quietly reading the history of the aging potion.

She sighed and flipped to the table of contents. "Bingo," thought Tessa as she found a Chapter that listed potions with curable qualities.

"Not finding anything," whispered Fred. He sighed as he closed the book setting it aside.

"Okay. So, first, we need to find the Aging Potion," whispered Tessa. Fred looked at all three books until he picked up "Every Potion Ever Made" and placed it between them.

"That's an index," stated Tessa looking away from the book and opened another.

Fred flipped the book open and scanned the pages until he found "Aging Potion" and glanced at the books listed discussing the potion. "I'll be back," whispered Fred getting up from the table and quickly walking away. A minute later he sat back down with four books gently placed on the table. He took off the book at the top. Of the stack and flipped it open.

"We need to figure out the ingredients and what we did wrong," said Fred stopping at a page and staring at it intently.

"The Library will lock its doors in one hour," bellowed a voice echoing through the shelves.

"Shit," mumbled Tessa as she copied down the ingredients, in Fred's book, and began flipping through the book she glanced a beforehand.

"This is going to take forever," sighed Fred. He pulled out his wand from underneath the table and with a swish the quill, in Tessa's hand, yanked away from her grasp and began writing on it's own.

"How'd you know that and I didn't," joked Tessa.

"Well, if you weren't sucking face last year I would've shown," spat Fred jokingly.

There was a long silence between the two until Tessa began to laugh. Her laugh echoed bouncing off the shelves causing students to glance in their direction.

"Quiet! This is a library you blithering degenerates," said a painting of a man reading behind them.

Fred covered his mouth stiffing his laughter. He place his other hand over Tessa's mouth. She relaxed from his touch and licked his palm. He quickly pulled away and rubbed his hand over her face. They silently fought each other pushing and grabbing until a book slammed onto a table behind in front of them. Bodies still intertwined, they look up to see a Ravenclaw Prefect sitting down and opening her book.

"Shhhhh," uttered Fred sarcastically. The noise was loud enough the get the girl to look up at the two glaring at them. Fred sighed and opened another book on a page that needed to be copied as the quill dipped into the ink pot and began writing on a new piece of parchment.

"See I told you. It's a lifesaver," said Fred watching Tessa's quill come to life. Her Face lit up in excitement as the quill dipped into the ink bottle and moved to a blank parchment writing her name shakily. "You'll get the hang of it."

Their study room was silent compared to previous nights of bubbling potions and laughter as experiments went wrong.

"It's forbidden isn't it," said Tessa jokingly as she watched the quill rest on top of the parchment underneath her poorly written name.

"Maybe, forbidden things are more fun to have," said Fred flirtatiously. Tessa stared at her name not looking up at Fred as his body leaned in closer.

"So I think this aging potion can work," stuttered Tessa shuffling the stacked sheets of paper and passing the potion list to Fred.

"Yeah," said Fred awkwardly leaning back into his seat. Tessa looked up at him and smiled.

The study room door flung open causing both of them to jump slightly allowing Tessa to grab Fred's arm and cling onto it for dear life.

"You guys won't believe it," said Lee excitedly barging into the room and sitting across from them.

"We can because we can see it," said Tessa jokingly letting go of Fred's arm.

"It wore off," said George closing the door behind him and crossed the room grabbing the last seat and staring at Fred and Tessa mischievously.

"Like a Polyjuice potion," finished Fred staring at Lee's aged features.

"Exactly like it," responded George. "Only took a few hours."

"Wicked," said Tessa.

"SO, our rigorous hours at the library are of waste," said Fred jokingly.

"Of course not," stated Lee as he leaned over and grabbed Tessa and Fred's notes scattered across the table. He shuffled them together and lightly tapped them against the table creating a neat stack so he and George could look over them. The two scanned through the notes turning pages and setting rejected ones aside.

"Ah," mumbled George scanning through a page with potions and their methods. "These ingredients are different."

"Might've had the wrong potion from the start," said Fred shaking his head.

"Plus," interjected Tessa. "This one isn't fully accurate."

"What do you mean?" Asked George curiously. He looked up at Tessa who smiled brightly.

"Well," Tessa started looking away and pointing at the page in Lee's hands. "There's not a proper way to make an aging potion.". She grabbed the notes and rummaged through them, until, she found one scribbling with notes and crossed out ingredients. "You have to make it for what suits you."

"Meaning," intercepted Fred. "We make it and we have to accurately brew it our way to have to age we want."

"So we could be 18 or 80 after taking it," responded George staring at the homemade potion placed in front of him.

"Yes," said Tessa quickly. "But we need to research it more this is only a rough draft."

"How about tomorrow?"

Tessa glared at Fred whose smirk turned into a smile waiting for an answer.

"Fine," said Tessa after a moment. "But I'll be studying."

"Thank you," said Fred grabbing his books and packing them into his bags.

The common Room was warm and cozy after the cold air pushed out the warmth outside creating a numbing chill throughout the entire castle. The only rooms Tessa felt comfortable in were the Great Hall, Library, and Common Room. They were always warm and inviting. Even the study room grew colder until the four stayed in it long enough the create a fire and let the warmth envelope them but they were never in that room long enough to feel fully cozy just long enough to test a few ingredients or discuss their research and leave for class or study for their classes.

"But I'm only overseeing. I'm not working on it. Not this week," said Tessa watching Fred get up from the common Room table.

"Of course," said Fred sarcastically as he slung his bag over his shoulder and waved goodbye walking up the boys' stairs. Tessa watched him go up the stairs until he was out of her sight.

"You and Fred seem close," said Hermione sitting in the recently vacant seat.

"I guess," shrugged Tessa as she looked at Hermione and back down at her Potions book.

Hermione sighed and opened her DADA books placing it to the side. "All I'm saying is that Fred has been studying more with you, and only you," said Hermione pulling out her notes, a quill, and ink.

"Yeah it's actually been productive considering we actually talk about homework when it's only us," sighed Tessa flipping through her book and found a Chapter devoted to explanations of Antidotes.

"Like I said," stated Hermione slamming her hands lightly on the table making Tessa look up at her. "He had only studied with you." Tessa stared blankly at Hermione who rolled her eyes. "Tessa. He's hanging out with you a lot more now."

"I haven't noticed," said Tessa quietly.

"Well I have," said Hermione stubbornly.

"Okay maybe I have noticed," said Tessa annoyed. "But he's made it clear he isn't interested in me an-'"

"-He is," interrupted Hermione exasperatedly.

"Come on 'Mione," laughed Tessa.

Hermione stared at her until Tessa's smile faded.

"He is," she said one more time. "I know you're scared, but humor me. Please?"

Tessa sighed and smiled slightly looking at Hermione.

"Okay," said Hermione satisfied as she leaned back into her chair. She read through her notes and began scribbling little details on the sides.

Tessa stared at Hermione trying to calm herself down; hoping her friend was right.

"How about Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Asked Tessa.

"Nah. We're fine," said Fred. "Still having trouble with Potions."

"We are both great at Potions," laughed Tessa turning to the same page Fred was reading in his book.

"Well, his homework is harder than last year," stated Fred as he turned a page from his book. "And I wanna make sure we get everything right."

Tessa stared at Fred until she shook her head. After Hermione's soothing words, Tessa began to notice how Fred would always have an excuse to share things with her. Quills, sweaters, books, and parchment to name a few. He always leaned into her when he would ask her a question. And she noticed how much time they've spent together since the semester began.

"Damn Hermione," thought Tessa as she watched Fred scribble notes onto a very messy sheet of parchment.

"Dinner is soon," said Fred as he made final footnotes and scribbled out random, unintelligible words.

Tessa jolted out of her thoughts and stared at Fred.

"Are you going to study more?" Asked Tessa staring at Fred's messy notes.

"Yeah, but in the common room. It's easier," responded Fred not looking up from his book.

"Well I'll see you there then," said Tessa with a smirk. She grabbed her things and began to get up from the table when Fred finally looked up at her.

"And where do you think you're going," said Fred flirtatiously. He smirk at Tessa looking at her up and down.

"There's stuff I have to take care of," flirted Tessa leaning on the table closer to him. His smirk fell to surprise and excitement as Tessa leaned away and walked towards the entrance of the library holding herself from looking back at the guy staring at Tessa and at his notes as if he were trying to decide on what to do next.

She weaved between the bookcases reaching the double doors at the end of the library. She opened the door and began to shut it behind her until a. Hand slammed against it leaving it ajar.

Tessa let the door go and stepped back, visibly confused, as the door slowly opened to reveal a grey sweatered arm with fainted yellow stripes at the wrist.

"Hey, Tess," said the source of the arm as they came into view.

"Hey," said Tessa quietly as Cedric Diggory closed the door behind him.


	18. The Feast

The weather was drab during the last few days October. The wind settled in the valley, and a permanent frost covered the ground causing students to slip and slide up and down the hills to and from classes allowing Peeves to have a great amount of joy at the sight of the students struggling to regain their balance.

The castle, however, was warm and cozy. An Autumnal atmosphere filled the air. Pumpkins, candles, and spiced tea filled the aroma of the Great Hall with a calming vibe allowing Tessa and The Weasleys to stay in the warm cozy Great hall, whom were procrastinating to stay away from the cold, drafty, musty, Hall of Hexes.

"I don't understand why we can't go up there it's just a bit of cold air," said Tessa annoyed.

"A bit? A bit of cold air," said Fred offended. "It's like the Arctic up there."

"Wouldn't be surprised if I saw a Polar Bear or two," said George jokingly.

"How about we go up there and find out," eased Tessa slowly closing her book and waggling her eyebrows.

"No," said Fred and George in unison.

Tessa rolled her eyes and opened her book taking notes on cures for boils, cursed and not. Tessa looked up from her notes to see Cedric smiling at her and waving slightly. Tessa smiled and waved back unaware of Fred boring his furious eyes into Cedric's stupid head.

"Looks like you friends again," said Hermione sitting down next to Tessa.

The boys grew silent as they waited for Tessa to answer.

"Yeah, but just friends. I've had enough of him," laughed Tessa slightly. "Heard he's got a new girl anyways."

Tessa felt Fred lean in closer to her after she said "new girl" which caused her to blush and jump in surprise. Hermione smiled at Tessa opening her books one by one so that all three were in front of her as she read each one simultaneously.

"Hermione, classes are over for the day," laughed Tessa as she stared at her with admiration,

"Still have the right to study," said Hermione quickly. "Unlike the Elves that cook our food."

A rumble of groans erupted throughout the table causing Hermione's cheeks to blush pink in frustration.

"Alright," said Tessa quietly. "I'll have a button please."

Hermione whipped up from her books staring at Tessa with surprise.

"I'm serious," said Tessa with a with smile.

Hermione smiled back and dug through her bag pulling out a S.P.E.W badge and placed it on Tessa chest.

"Alright, alright," said Lee sitting down next to Fred and George. "The Beauxbatons and Durmstrang schools are to arrive soon we should go check it out."

"Sounds good to me," said Fred quickly before Hermione could place a badge on his sweater. He dodged her arms, which caused Hermione to fall into Tessa's lap, and briskly walked out of the Great Hall with George and Lee intow.

"Honestly," said Hermione trying to pull her hair down to a suitable puff. "I don't know how you stand to be with those three."

"How do you stand to be with Harry and Ron," said Tessa jokingly.

"Touchee," said Hermione situating her sweater and continuing her studies.

The feast, after the two schools' arrival, was extravagant. There were foods of all kinds on the table ranging from each school's normal diets. Hermione grumbled in frustration at the abundance of plates and decorations on the table refusing to eat for a moment until, finally, snagging a piece of roasted pheasant and nibbling at a biscuit grumbling between each bite.

"Hermione's in a slump," mumbled George jokingly a dribble of gravy and turkey falling from his lips.

"And you're a mess," responded Tessa laughing. She threw a napkin at George and giggled as gravy smeared over his cheek from a lazy swipe.

"e'cuse me."

Tessa turned around to see a girl standing over them smirking at Tessa. Her Satin blue dress swayed lightly around her hips making Tessa look down at her legs and backup to her face.

"Vill that be eaten by your table," said the girl eyes still on Tessa.

"No it will not be eaten," interrupted Hermione handing the plate over Tessa's head to the girl.

"Is very good you know," said the girl to Tessa still not breaking eye contact.

"Maybe I'll try it tomorrow," sputtered Tessa blushing a shade of light pink.

The girl smiled and placed the snail on Tessa's plate elbowing George lightly and nearly grazing her torso on Tessa's shoulder.

The girl curtsied slightly, once she leaned away from the table, and winked at Tessa walking away with a trail of boys staring at her swinging hips until she turned the corner back to the Ravenclaw table.

"Bloody Hell," sighed Ron. "Did you see her flirting with us."

"She wasn't flirting with you Ron," stated Hermione sternly.

"Who was it then?" Asked Ron defensively.

Hermione sputtered trying to avert her gaze to Tessa's blushing face, now a shade of red.

"Of course he was flirting with me Ron," stated George confidently. "Women like her aren't attracted to boys."

"Oh shut it,"muttered Ron stuffing his face with pumpkin Pie.

Tessa sighed relaxing into her seat as George winked at her.

The walk back to the Common Room was dismal, compared to the extravagant entrances and dinner. The two other schools were scattered throughout the Grand Staircase eyeing their new home with amazement and disdain.

"Beauxbatons seems to be a snobby school," said Fred jokingly as he pointed at two girls shrieking over Nearly Headless Nick greeting them.

"Too stuck up for us," said Lee with a laugh.

"Yeah,"mumbled Tessa as she looked over the stair's railing.

"That girl did not have it for you George," continued Lee. Tessa grew stiff as she marched up the stairs faster.

"Are you out of your mind," stated George. "She practically fell into Tessa trying to ignore me obviously she was trying to get my attention."

Lee put a hand to his chin in deep thought.

"Girls always act that way i suppose," said Lee after they reached the Common Room entrance.

"Fox Trot," said Tessa as the door swung open to reveal a loud Common Room.

"George is always right," said Fred jokingly as he walked into the Common Room behind Tessa.

Lee shrugged in response and walked over to Angelina and Hannah sitting by the fireplace talking animatedly.

"Thanks," said Tessa to George once he stood beside her.

"No worries," said George winking. "I wouldn't be worried about it though. We don't care."

Tessa nodded her throat dry casing her to cough lightly.

"Tess," yelled Hermione waving Tessa over to the table surrounded by books and sheets of paper. "Thank god you're here."

Tessa laughed as she sat down across the mountain of books that Hermione began to rearrange so that she could see Tessa's face.

"Now," said Hermione situating her sweater. The books were stacked high enough to hide them both from the growing crowd of students. "How about that girl."

"What about here," stuttered Tessa shrugging her shoulders.

"Look," said Hermione. "I know about it, and it's okay. I saw the way you looked at Fleur prancing about between the tables." Tess sighed leaning back into the chair. "You looked like a pubescent boy seeing boobs for the first time. Don't deny it." Hermione laughed slightly as Tessa rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Maybe I think Fleur is a very pretty lady," said Tessa smirking.

"Not as much as that girl," said Hermione seriously.

"Yeah," sighed Tessa her cheeks growing pink. "I don't know. I kinda had mixed feelings about the whole situation."

"Well you're used to boys hitting on you, not girls," said Hermione smiling.

"Yeah it felt good, but also felt weird," sighed Tessa rubbing her face.

"Well you'll get used to it," said Hermione motherly. "Especially when you get out of Hogwarts."

"Yeah," said Tessa cheerful. "Thanks Hermione."

"Any time," said Hermione grabbing a book of Creature's Civil Rights from the stack and began reading it jotting notes down on a messy sheet of paper.

"How does this even happen," yelled Tessa as she walked into the study Room to see a mass of green goo glowing on the walls, floors, and table surrounding Fred's cauldron.

"Fred tripped over the table," laughed Lee scraping some goo off of his trousers.

"It went everywhere," laughed George, as a red faced Fred vigorously scrubbed his hair getting green goo out of it.

"Thankfully," said Fred shaking his head around. "The potion wasn't active."

"You would've been an old man," laughed Tessa as she laid her bag on a dry chair and pulled out her wand. With a swish, the goo began to shrink until there was nothing left of the potion except for in the cauldron.

"We are getting closer to correcting the potion," said George excitedly.

"She be done by morning," said Fred happily. "And thanks."

Tessa nodded as she pulled out some ingredients from her bag.

"You're the best," said Lee as he grabbed them from Tessa's hands one by one and walked over to the cauldron placing them on the table neatly.

"I actually, only, came to give you guys the ingredients," said Tessa happily.

"Aw, you're not staying?" Asked George sullenly.

"No," said Tessa picking up her bag and placing it back over her shoulders. "Have to study for N.E.W.T.S."

"With whom?" Asked Fred curiously.

"With classmates, of course," laughed Tessa as she walked out of the room shutting the door behind her.

"With Cedric," mumbled Fred slumping over the cauldron.

"Oh bollocks," said Lee. "Cedric isn't even studying the same subjects. Obviously."

Fred shrugged his shoulders in protest. Lee sighed as he pulled out notes for the aging potion.

"Come on Fred," sighed George, walking over to his brother. "Cedric's not anywhere near her. He is, still, avoiding her."

Fred nodded, still slumped over the cauldron leaning his elbows on the edge slightly.

"Oh Merlin," said lee annoyed. "You're going to spill the goo again."

Fred perked up from his hunched slouch and smiled wickedly at the door.

"We need to scrape this potion anyway," said Fred menacingly.

"Yes?" Said Lee hesitantly.

"Maybe we need to pay the kitchens a visit," said Fred happily as he began to run to a chest in the corner of the study room. He pulled out muggle water balloons, ran back to the table, and stuffing the goo into the balloons until they were engorged with slime. He pulled out his wand as sprays of water, coming out of the tip, filled the balloons to grow two times the size. He tied them shut lightly placing the first filled balloon on the table.

George and Lee grinned menacingly, as well, and followed Fred's steps until the entire bag of balloons were filled with the gooey water mixture lined on the table easy to be thrown.

"I bet Peeves will be happy to see these lying around the dungeon," said Fred as he began to place the balloons, carefully, into his bag motioning George and Lee to do the same.

"Maybe, in a broom closet, by the kitchens," suggested George grinning as he clasped his bag shut following Fred and Lee out of the study room.


	19. The Champion Who Lost

Tessa's boots clicked, and clacked, along the stone floor as she briskly walked down to the hospital Wing.

"Bloody geniuses," mumbled Tessa under her breath as she rounded the corner of the hall towards the tall and wide engraved double doors. Her canter slowed to a walk as she opened one of the doors to hear the room full of laughter.

"Tess!," shouted Fred motioning her over. "Look we finally have facial hair now.". Fred pointing at his long white beard that covered his mouth and neck.

"We're men," interjected George happily. He stroked his beard lovingly waggling his eyebrows in Tessa's direction.

Tessa sighed and relaxed her tense shoulders as she walked over to the twins' beds. "Finally hit puberty I see," said Tessa laughing.

"I take offense to that," said Fred appalled.

"You of all people, hitting us when we're low," said George wiping a fake tear from his cheek.

"Oh shove it you two," said Tessa waving them off as she sat down next to George's bed.

"Meme me," mocked Fred as he smiled at Tessa who winked at him in response.

"How long will you two be in here?" Asked Tessa quietly.

"Will you be fine on your own without us," said Fred waggling his eye-brows.

"Oh please I have a life that doesn't involve you two," said Tessa getting up from her chair.

There was a moment of silence from Fred and George until they both sputtered into laughter as Tessa walked away from them.

"Pricks," laughed Tessa as she opened the door to the hospital wing and walking out of the laughter filled room, closing the door behind her.

"Are you excited?" Asked Tessa nudging Angelina as the crowd of students filled the the Great Hall. The Goblet of Fire's flames glowing blue and silver lapping over the rim.

"Very," said Angelina blushing slightly wringing her hands together in her lap.

"If anyone could get it you will," said Hannah Abbott sitting to the right of Angelina.

"Mhm," mumbled the three girls in unison as they watched Viktor Kramer and his group waltz in with a trail of girl behind them.

"Gimme a break," grumbled Ron who was glaring at Viktor Krum and his groupies as they walked past.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she stared at the entrance of the Great Hall watching the last of the Beauxbatons students saunter to their group. Tessa rolled her eyes and glance at the teacher's table that was now seated by non other than Percy Weasley.

"The hell?" Said Tessa shoving Ron's shoulder and pointing at Percy sitting very taut in his seat.

"I'm sure he's keeping it warm for that twat, Crouch, until he arrives," mumbled Ron that sputtered a few chuckles around them including Hermione who covered her smirk with her hand.

"Lousy git," said Fred glaring at the table now accompanied by Ludo Bagman.

Tessa rubbed Fred's arm in assurance causing him to blush lightly and relax into his seat. The Great Hall was now filled to the brim with giddy and excited students waiting for the ceremony to begin.

"Good luck, Angelina," said Tessa as Angelina smiled lightly.

"HARRY! HARRY! HARRY!."

The entire Common Room erupted in cheers once Harry walked into the room like dragged by Fred and George.

Tessa walked up behind Fred and George and pushed in between them to Harry. She grabbed Harry after Fred and George congratulated them, and kissed both of his cheeks causing Harry to blush profusely.

"How'd you do it?" Asked Tessa still holding his Face.

"I-I didn't," sputtered Harry. Tessa let go of Harry's face a nodded understanding as he blushed even more moving into the throng of people trying to hug him and speak to him.

"Oh so now that Harry is champion you want to have a shot at him too," said George nudging Tessa.

"Bugger off," laughed Tessa pushing George away toward Fred looking glum in the corner near the fireplace.

Tessa turned around and watched Harry now with a red and gold cap on his back billowing behind him as he ran up the staircase.

"Party pooper," mumbled Tessa as she grabbed a pumpkin pasty from the table filled with treat and walked over to Angelina and Hannah.

The morning of the First Task was dismal. Harry looked as though he was about to throw up his breakfast as owls swooped over his head dropping packages to their owners.

Tessa's family owl, black with white speckles, zoomed over Fred and George's head with a massive box nearly hitting Ron as it slammed on the table skidding to a stop in front of Tessa. Nyx, Tessa's now grown gat, leaped onto the table and sat on the box pawing at Ron's dropped sausage,

Fred and George began laugh as Ron tried to grab his beloved sausage while Nyx bopped his hand every time he reached for it.

"Bloody fucking cats," said Ron snatching his sausage as Tessa picked up Nyx and placed her in Fred's lap.

"You know you need to stop eating Ron," said Hermione motherly.

"Yeah looks like you're still stuck with your baby cheeks with how much you stuff your face," said George laughing harder as Ron threw his empty pate at George's chest.

"What's the package," asked Hermione excitedly.

"I don't know I'll check later," said Tessa as picked up the box and ran out of the Great Hall towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Need help?"

Tessa turned around expecting it to be Fred when instead it was George.

"Always need help from you," said Tessa smiling.

George smiled back and grabbed the box from her arms and ushered her to go up the stairs.

"So is this more supplies," said George brightly.

"I honestly don't know," said Tessa touching the mint green bow wrapped seamlessly around the lavender box.

"Looks fancy," said George shaking the box lightly.

"Probably from my family in France," said Tessa laughing as George shook harder but to no avail only the sound of rustling paper.

"Balderdash," said George.

"We can leave it there," said Tessa pointing at a nook near the Common Room entrance that one could hardly see unless they flashed a light to it.

"Too lazy to walk upstairs," said George laughing as he placed the box behind a Gryffindor Banner.

"Nah,"said Tessa waving him off. "But it would be nice if an elf found it and carried it to my room."

"I'm telling Hermione," said George pushing the painting door open allowing Tessa to go in first.

"Then, I'm telling Lee you stole his sweater he's been looking for for the past three days."

"I was only joking," said George trying to grab Tessa as she ran down the stairs.

Tessa ran down each staircase with George hot on her heels until she reached the ground floor only to be picked up and swung over George's shoulders.

"Put me down," laughed Tessa as she relaxed into his grip.

"Doesn't seem like you want to be put down," said George jokingly.

"Eh," said Tessa. "It's actually quite nice being carried."

At the entrance of the castle, George dropped Tessa off his shoulder and carefully laid her on the steps so she could walk down them without trying to regain her balance.

"Bummer," said Tessa mimicking a pout as George pushed her to continue walking with the growing crowd of students making their way to the arena.

"Where have you two been?" Asked Lee making room for Tessa and George.

"Tessa took too long putting up her package in her room," said George winking at Tessa.

Tessa stuck out her tongue as the arena filled to full capacity within minutes. Below her she saw Hermione looking heavily worried and looking in every direction she possibly could.

Tessa leaned over her seat and tapped Hermione lightly

"You okay 'Mione?" Asked Tessa. Hermione jumped from her touch and nodded her head vigorously and quickly turned back around.

Tessa shrugged her shoulders and waited, like the rest of the arena, for the First Task to begin.

"When is Harry coming," said Ginny impatiently as the party grew thicker and louder as the minutes droned on.

"Thats a good book,"stated Hermione sitting next to her by the fire. She Pointed at the book in Tessa's hand who covered the title and Hermione could only decipher the book by its illustrations.

"It's been great so far," said Tessa holding up "Sense and Sensibility" for Ginny to see.

"Can I read it next?" Ginny asked peeking over the couch.

"Of course," laughed Tessa as she placed the book down and sat up allowing her feet to rest on the floor so all three girl can sit on the couch together.

Once Ginny settled next to Tessa they both sat silently waiting for Hermione to begin talking. It was apparent she had something to say considering she was fidgeting with her hair lightly.

"Erm," said Hermione uncomfortably. "I'm sorry for earlier. I was nervous for Harry."

"We all are Hermione," said Tessa soothingly. "Look if it makes you feel better i think all of us here have the same feeling about what's going on with the tournament."

"And why Harry is in it," interjected Ginny.

Hermione nodded relaxing into her seat as an eruption of cheers enveloped the room. She stood up and sauntered towards the front door waiting for Harry to be clear of congratulators.

"About time you two showed up," said Ginny as she grabbed a bag of pastries from Fred's hands. She stood up and walked away as Fred took her seat staring up at the ceiling.

"Quit a show isn't it," said Fred pointing at the sparkling show above them.

"Yeah it is," said Tessa in awe as the color changed from silver to blue.

"We'll make some of our own," said Fred confidently squeezing Tessa's shoulder pulling her closer into his body during the process.

"I know you will," said Tessa happily.

"And you'll be there," said Fred looking down at her.

"Yeah,"said Tessa quietly. The room grew silent as Fred leaned in closer to Tessa. More fireworks shot into the air creating a faint popping noise like pressure pushing at your eardrums.

Tessa leaned upwards to close the gap between their lips and the fireworks went off again creating a deafening sound that slowly turned into a shrill voice causing Tessa to pull away from Fred and cover her ears.

"What the hell," said Tessa to Fred who had the same face of shock as hers, but Tessa felt it wasn't because of the deafening shrill that pulled them away from each other. Because he wasn't looking at the object Harry's hands, he was looking at Tessa.

"I," sputtered Fred quickly before shuffling away from her grasp and walking towards the other side of the common room.

"Shit," thought Tessa as she sunk deeper into her leather chair.

"You two," said Hermione excitedly. "You. You."

"Yes," said Tessa rubbing her face. "And now he's over in the corner talking to Ron and Dean."

"Oh dear," said Hermione sympathizing with Tessa's tone. "He's just surprised is all."

"Yes," said Tessa rubbing her shoulder that still tingled from Fred's touch.

Hermione gave Tessa a side hug before ushering her towards Angelina and Ginny. "Smile," stated Hermione squeezing Tessa's hand.

Tessa straightened her shoulders and turned her tight lipped frown to a cheeky smile once Ginny and Angelina caught sight of them.

"I saw the box on your bed," said Angelina excited. "I got one too."

"Have you opened yours yet?" Asked Tessa happily.

"Of course not that would ruin the surprise!" Said Angelina excitedly.

"You're right," laughed Tessa. "We'll open ours the same time."

"Yes we will," said Angelina passing a cupcake to Hermione.

"So Snape still wants that essay on Tuesday," said Tessa clicking her quill against her Potions book.

"Mm," responded Fred his quill stuffed in his mouth as he grabbed or a few sheets of parchment.

Tessa sighed as she did the same. They sat across from each other for the first time since Sixth year began. He was far enough away for even their feet couldn't touch underneath the table Tessa tried to reach for him which would be too obvious in her opinion.

A minutes dragged on as the scratching of quills was the only noise around them. Fred Put the lid on his ink as he began placing his books and dried sheets of notes into his bag. Tessa did the same until she stooped and turned her body back in front of Fred.

"Something wrong?" Asked Fred almost defensively.

"We kissed yesterday," sputtered out Tessa. "And you've been acting like it was nothing."

Fred stared at her silently watching her face grow from annoyance to sadness.

"I liked it," said Tessa quietly. She looked down at her lap and back up at Fred who moved his lips lightly as though he were trying to find the right words to say. Tessa scoffed she picked up her things and briskly walked away from the table.

She ran out of the library and towards the entrance hall into the gardens just outside the castle. She sat on a bench dropping her bags to a crumpled heap in the dead leaf covered ground. "stupid," though Tessa tutting her head in her hands.

"Xcuse me," said a heavily accented voice. Tessa looked up to she the french girl standing over her smiling. "Is zis seat taken ?"

"No," said Tessa scooting over to make room for her. "Have a seat."

"I'm sorry to intrude," started the girl before placing a hand to her lips. "But I saw semthing odd?" She looked at Tessa hoping she got the right word and smiling as Tessa nodded smiling lightly. "You ver running out of zat Bibliotheque."

"Yes," laughed Tessa as the girl blushed.

"And I vented to introduce myself," said the French girl. "I'm Amelie."

"Nice to meet you Amelie," said Tessa nodding at the girl.

"If it eezn't too much treble," said Amelie quietly. "I vaz vandering if you could zit vita the raven table tonight?"

"Yeah I can do that,, said Tessa taking up the opportunity to have a little space for the evening.

"Great I'll see you there," said Amelie as she stood up, curtsying lightly, turning around ,and walked away.

Fred stared at the vacant chair in front of him. He mumbled a few words before shooting out of his chair and briskly walking towards the Library door. He reached the Entrance Hall quickly enough to see Tessa hopping off of the last few stair towards the school gardens.

He walked towards the gardens and slowed to stop when he saw Tessa sitting on a bench with her heads in her hands,

"Shit," thought Fred as he began walking again towards the garden. He reached the last step until hiding behind a pillar as a Beauxbatons girl stopped in front of Tessa.

He waited for quite sometime time until small giggles from the two girls. He glanced over at the two to see the Beauxbatons girl place a hand on Tessa's arm before walking away back to the group of girls she left behind.

He glanced over at Tessa again to see her smiling and blushing before picking up her bag and standing up.

"Looks like the kiss didn't mean anything then," thought Fred to himself as he turned away from Tessa and walked down the hall to the right of him.


	20. The Date

"The Yule Ball will happen very soon,". Said Professor McGonagall much louder than usual to regain the classrooms attention. "We shall end class early, but only to take lessons in the room next door."

A few groans enveloped the room as McGonagall rolled her eyes and lead the students out to the corridor and into the next room.

It was small compared to the transfiguration classroom. Tessa bumped up against Angelina and Lee who laughed at some Slytherin students, standing in the doorway, looking at the room in disgust.

"Alright, Alright," said Professor McGonagall clapping her hands. "Find a partner." She lightly pushed some students across the room in encouragement. "Get going." Tessa laughed as Lee grabbed Angelina before she could protest and began waltzing towards the middle of the room.

Tessa scanned the room, for a familiar face, and caught the sight of Fred walking towards her. She smiled, but it cracked when walked passed her and grabbed the hand of a Ravenclaw girl that looked too excited for Tessa's pleasure.

"May I have this dance?"

Tessa turned around to see George smiling at her raising an eyebrow.

"You may," said Tessa. She held out her hand as George wrapped his arm around her waist and lead her into a waltz.

"You haven't got a date yet?"

Tessa sighed as she entered the Common Room with more talk of the Yule Ball. She avoided the right side of the room and slumped up the stairs to her dormitory.

She opened the door and to her surprise no one was there. She closed the door and walked towards her bed throwing her bag onto her trunk and jump onto her mattress laying a handover her eyes.

A moment later the door shut startling Tessa as she jolted into a seated position.

"He's an arse," said Angelina jokingly.

"Oh shut it," laughed Alicia. "It's only one date."

"You got a date?" Asked Tessa stretching her arms and getting up from her bed.

"Yes," said Alicia excitedly.

"To whom?" Asked Tessa standing up from her bed and walking over to her wardrobe.

"Some Durmstrang guy," interjected Angelina.

Alicia blushed as Tessa laughed.

"Do you even know his name?" Asked Tessa as she opened one of the doorspulling out blue jeans and a gryffindor sweater.

"No," stated Alicia quickly. "But I will after dinner." She grinned almost menacingly as she leaped off her bed and waltzed towards the bathroom.

"She's excited," said Angelina to Tessa with a smile.

"That she is," agreed Tessa quietly closing her wardrobe's door and quickly changing into her clothes as the cold air nipped at her exposed skin.

The Common Room was dimly lit by the crackling fire. A loud bang of an explosion defused the silence making a group of First Years jump away from the fire facing their backs. George, Tessa, and Lee stifled their laughter as another explosion caused them to quickly move away from the fire.

"Must've missed that we were playing SnapBang," whispered George in Tessa's ear whom giggled lightly turning red from holding in the laughter.

A few more rounds of snap bang and the Common Room filled with scattered students allowing the game to end with a card exploding in Tessa's hands.

"Finally," grumbled Lee.

"Sore Winner," joked Tessa sticking her tongue out as Lee returned the gesture.

"Come on let's go talk to Fred," said George as he stood up and walked over to his brother sitting at a table in darkest section of the room.

Tessa waved goodbye as the two sat down and began whispering in hushed tones. Tessa pulled out her Potions notebook and hers notes placing on the ash covered wiping away the excess that wasn't underneath her Potion's Book and notes.

She could hear Hermione's scoff as she smirked up at her entering the room with Harry and Ron splitting away from her to sit at the table with Fred, George, and Lee.

"That's disgusting," stated Hermione sitting near Tessa.

"It makes it seem like I practice potions way more than I actually do," said Tessa.

Hermione looked impressed and quickly changed her face back to judgement as she opened her piles of books one at a time until they surrounded her in a half circle.

The Common Room was quiet once more with the occasional conversation reaching louder in volume and quickly die down again as to not interfere with everyone else's conversation, until she heard Fred loudly call for Angelina whom was across the room.

A ringing in Tessa's ears drowned out the conversation between she and Fred. She saw Angelina nod her head approvingly as a blurred halo pulsated at the edges of her vision.

Tessa glanced at Fred who was staring at her with a smirk on his face. Tessa quickly looked down at her book and began skimming the pages writing shakily on a blank sheet of parchment.


	21. The Reconcile

"Ez he seengale?"

Tessa tried to not roll her eyes.

"Yes," said Tessa with a smile plastered on her face. "But he already has a date for the Ball."

"Shame," said the Parisian girl as she turned away from Tessa uninterested once more.

"Don't vorry," said Amelie placing a hand on Tessa's arm. "Sheez." Amelie paused thinking of the proper words.

"Desperate," whispered Tessa in Amelie's ear whom giggled profusely as her cheeks burned a shade of pink.

"Mornin' ladies," said a gruff voice as Tessa turned around to see George looming over her.

A few of the Beauxbatons students turned away from him enveloped in one another's conversations as Amelie smiled at George happily.

"Pardon me," said George lightly. "But may I borrow Tessa for the rest of the morning."

Tessa glared at George as Amelie smiled brightly nodding her head.

"Ev course," stated Amelie scooting Tessa out of her seat. "Thank yew for letting me 'ave 'er for ze veek."

"Anytime," said George pulling a reluctant Tessa out of her seat and nudging her lightly to walk towards the Great Hall doors.

"I wasn't finished with breakfast," mumbled Tessa crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're not finished being a child either apparently," snapped George once they exited the Great Hall.

Tessa glared at the back of George's head as he climbing the Grand staircase. He veered off course towards the Hall Of Hexes as the crowd of students dwindled to a few stragglers looking lost as always.

"May I ask why I'm going to THE Room?" Asked Tessa as the silence made her feel uneasy.

George turned around causing her jump jump lightly.

"Would you like to go to the Ball with me?" Asked George quickly staring at Tessa's shocked face.

"Absolutely," stated Tessa without skipping a beat.

"Cool," said George with a smile. He turned around and continued walking down the hall stopping at the familiar door Tessa missed seeing. "Wanted to get that out of the way. You know." George shrugged as he pulled open the door allowing Tessa to go in first.

"There she is," said Fred quickly looking up from a stack of books on the table.

"Nice to see this place again, eh?" Asked Lee elbowing Tessa lightly as she set her bag down in a chair next to the door.

"I've definitely missed this place," said Tessa quietly.

"And us?" Asked Fred. He winked as Tessa stared at him blankly and walked around the stack of books snatching the notes from Fred's hands.

"I don't miss that however," stated Fred as she sat in the chair next to him.

"What are you doing," stated Tessa perplexed at the scribbles and shaky drawings of ears with a cable.

"What do you think," responded George leaning in between she and Fred.

"Bugger of," grumbled Fred pushing George away.

"A listening device," sighed Tessa.

"Exactly," said the three boys in unison.

"Mostly Fred and George's concept," said Lee proudly.

"It's genius," whispered Tessa. She stared in awe at the diagrams and intricate notes she had to squint to see. A moment had passed and she realized that silence in the room.

She looked up to see Fred staring at his potions book, but no George or Lee in sight. She looked behind her. Her chair squeaking from the sudden movement.

"They went to get supplies," said Fred quietly.

"Oh," replied Tessa scooting closer to the table and away from Fred.

"I'm sorry," said Fred quickly.

Tessa looked up at him in shock.

"You're sorry?" Asked Tessa in a vindictive tone.

"I was a prick," blurted Fred. He closed his book and clasped his hands together staring at them hard.

"You were horrible," said Tessa slightly annoyed.

"I know," responded Fred.

"Well actions speak louder than words," spat Tessa. "It's about time you put a use to your actions for good and not fuel on whatever fiery resentment you have towards me."

Fred sat quietly nodding his head lightly, as Tessa's rigid body began to ache from the tension.

"I thought," paused Fred still staring at his clasped hands now turning purple around the edges.

"You thought?" Asked Tessa looking up at him. She closed her book as well facing her torso towards him and leaning into her hand resting her elbow on the table.

"I thought," said Fred calmly letting go of his hands and gazing up at Tessa's eyes. "I thought you and that French girl hit it off and-,"

"-And you took your jealousy on me," interrupted Tessa boring eyes into his. "Well what if we did, and then she ended it because she felt like she was impeding on our friendship."

"I feel horrible. What I did," paused Fred looking away from Tessa's glare.

"You feel horrible," laughed Tessa lifting her head from her hand and tousling her hair. She leaned back into her seat pouting at the door. "You made my life a nightmare the past month."

"I'm-"

"Stop saying you're sorry," blurted Tessa glaring back at Fred. "You fucked up Weasley."

"I don't know what to say," blurted out Fred almost as if he were in pain.

"Stop saying and start doing," said Tessa picking up her book and walking over to her bag across the room. She didn't bother stuffing her bag as she picked it up slinging it over her shoulder. She opened the door to the study hall and marched out letting the door swing open behind her.

"You ready," shouted Angelina as she ran across the room rummaging through her bag.

"Almost," shouting Tessa as she shoved her feet into her left shoe.

"Merlin's beard," grumbled Angelina as she ran passed Tessa and snagged her wand stuffing it in a garland wrapped around her thigh.

"Why are you bringing that," scoffed Tessa as she shoved her right foot into another heeled shoe.

"Always need your wand on you," stated Angelina happily.

Tessa shrugged in responded and wobbled on the narrow heel holding her body weight as she stood.

Her dress was a gray in color. The top half showed her bare skin peeking through lace and forming a v shape down her chest showing little cleavage. Each arm was covered in the same material to her wrist. The lace hugged every which way it laid and flowed, past her waist, in a silky fabric to the floor, covering her heels, barely grazing the ground.

The back of her dress however was none the bit conservative as it drooped low down her back showing her bare skin until the silky fabric hugged the two dimples on her lower back and flowed to the floor into a light train.

"We gotta go," shouted Angelina behind whom opened the door and began running down the stairs.

Tessa picked up her dress and followed suit taking her time as she closed the door behind her and sauntered down the stairs. Small chatter echoed through the staircase and erupted into a roar as the tiny hall opened up to the Common Room below her.

Sequined Dresses and silky tux laidened students littered the Common Room in such a fashion that Tessa has never seen her entire house in such a cordial manner. Tessa reached the bottom step and was immediately scooped up by George whom led her towards the Common Room exit.

"You are stunning," said George rubbing Tessa's right shoulder leading her out of the loud room. The Grand Staircase was considerably louder as Tessa saw Angelina and Fred two flights below them.

"We are supposed to be in the Great Hall first closest to the Professors table," said George quickly as the Ground Floor neared in Tessa's vision. Best get a move on already late." George laughed as Tessa elbowed him lightly.

"We are not late,"scoffed Tessa dramatically causing a few students to look their way in hopes of the first sight of drama for the night.

George laughed harder as he hopped off the last step and helping Tessa off the staircase before allowing her to walk ahead of him into the great Hall.

The room was packed with upperclassman waiting impatiently for the ball to begin. Tessa glanced at Angelina and Fred whom by the looks of it were farther apart than any couple in the entire room almost allowing a Durmstrang student get in between them.

George, however, was so close to Tessa she could feel his breath on the nap of her neck as the room began filling First and Second year classmates.

"Liking the view by the way," whispered George."Never seen such a risqué outfit from you Thornhill."

"There's more where that came from," replied Tessa as she bumped George lightly away from her. They both laughed as the room was filled, minus the champions, and the orchestra began playing the first notes of a song.

"Hurry up," shouted Fred behind him.

It was almost Three in morning as Tessa picked up her dress running after him. After dancing with George for most of the night to now chasing after a boy that lost her trust through a hallway, only lit by the moonlight, Tessa had lost both of her shoes, her hair fallen into beachy waves grazing her bare back, and a smile she only shared with Fred that hadn't been on her face in weeks.

"I'm trying but the floor's hard to run on," shouted Tessa happily. She rounded the corner and bumped into Fred whom was waiting for her. He wrapped his arms around her lifted her into the air. "Put me down!"

"Alright," laughed Fred and he placed Tessa back onto the stone floor and grabbed her hand pulling her deeper into a very dark hallway.

"Where are we going?" Asked Tessa.

"I told you you'll see," laughed Fred as he stopped in front of a door and opened it slowly.

The room was brightly light with floating candles and a bottle of fire whiskey on a single table. Tessa marveled in the sight as she entered the room; the door shutting behind her.

"Sneaking into the library, kitchens, and now this," thought Tessa as the room glowed and ambient array of pink, orange, and yellow.

"You said actions over words right," said Fred motioning her to follow him to the table.

"Yeah," said Tessa as she sat on the bar stool adjacent to Fred.

"Well this is the best I could come up with on such short notice," grunted Fred as he popped open the Fire Whiskey and poured into on of the glasses that somehow materialized onto the table.

"It's perfect," sighed Tessa as he placed a glass half filled in front of her. "I'm amazed you even got Fire Whiskey to be honest."

"Eh stole it from the Professor's lounge," shrugged Fred. "It's quite easy when they're to busy having fun themselves."

"Mhm," mumbled Tessa staring at Fred with wonder.

"Now that I have shown my sincere apology through action," said Fred pouring a glass himself. "Can we talk now."

"Yeah, we can," sighed Tessa after she took a sip from her glass.

"Seems like you and Fred are doing great," mumbled Hermione as Tessa sat next to her in the Great Hall.

It had been a week since the Yule Ball and she and Fred were inseparable since. Even sitting by Hermione now was a surprise.

"Yeah," said Tessa lightly blushing. "He's been working on building our friendship."

"Relationships more like it," mumbled Hermione.

"Pardon," joked Tessa as she grabbed a piece of toast between them.

"Oh come, Tess," stated Hermione. "You two have mostly done everything beside kiss when it comes to a budding relationship. You even held hands with him the other day."

"You're watching us," stated Tessa dramatically clutching her heart, smearing butter residue from her fingers on her shirt.

"Oh come off it," grumbled Hermione as she covered her book with her face. "Even if you have come to terms with Fred and yourself being friends again you haven't even considered how Amelie and Angelina feel."

"They're both fine Angelina's satisfied and Amelie is very happy for me," said Tessa smirking as she ate her butter filled toast. "She's the one who broke up with me anyways. Well not really broken up, but ended things from going further."

Hermione sat still for quite sometime until placing her book down and staring at Tessa.

"Didn't know that,"said Hermione quickly.

"Mione, I know you're still looking out for me but I'm fine," said Tessa in between bites.

"How's you and Viktor by the way," said Tessa waggling her eyebrows.

"We're fine," said Hermione abruptly. "But that's besides the point. How is it that you are smitten with him when a week ago you wanted to rip his eyes out with a ladle." Her frizzy hair bounced as she situated in her seat.

"We talked," said Tessa shrugging her shoulders.

"What about?" Asked Hermione leaning forward even more.

"It's personal besides," responded Tessa waving Hermione off. "He's actually treating me like a separate being from the the guys for once."

"You mean girlfriend," stated Hermione leaning away from the table.

"No," sputtered Tessa quickly. "He told me the truth and his actions, mind you were highly unethical in my judgment, are forgiven considering his nature."

"His nature," repeated Hermione un-skeptically.

"Yes," stated Tessa pouring a glass of orange juice. "Remember that time Malfoy called you a mud-blood and the next day he was in the Hospital Wing vomiting his intestines out." Tessa ate a piece of her toast as Hermione grimaced at her perplexed. "He couldn't eat anything solid for days."

"Yes," said Hermione mildly annoyed.

"Yeah," mumbled Tessa with a mouthful of food. "He's a walking nightmare if you rub him the wrong way."

Hermione's eyes squinted as she watched Tessa take a sip of her orange juice. "Guys guys did it didn't you."

Tessa spat out her drink all over the table as Hermione flinched from the spray that hit her face. A few tables down you could hear a group of students laughing and pointing in their direction as Tessa held her nose in agony.

"Merlin, 'mione," spat Tessa as she reached for a napkin and wiped her out and nose that looked slightly orange until it was wiped clean. "No we didn't."

"You did something," stated Hermione in the same tone as before.

"Fine," said Tessa. "Keep your voice down."

"So," said Hermione waiting impatiently.

"We had a few shots of Fire Whiskey," stated Tessa.,

"How'd you get Fire Whiskey," stated Hermione shamefully. "You could get expelled if a teacher found out."

"I know I know," stated Tessa annoyed. "We were a bit tipsy, and we talked about life and other stuff."

"You kissed," said Hermione monotonously.

"We talked about stuff," whispered Tessa looking around the room whom seemed to not care anymore about the two girls covered in juice.

"Okay," said Hermione picking up her book and began reading it again as if what Tessa told her was expected.

"That's it," said Tessa after a moment of staring at Hermione for a few seconds.

"Yeah," said Hermione.

Tessa rolled her eyes and sat up from the table walking out of the Great Hall and up the stairs towards the Common Room where Fred was waiting on her to go morning walk around the castle.


	22. Final Goodbyes

"Oh you've got to be joking," mumbled Tessa rounding the corner to see a swarm if girls surrounding Viktor whom looked annoyed annoyed peering into the Great Hall where everyone was eating breakfast.

"Famous Quidditch player, Champion, who does he think he is taking all our women," said Ron glaring in Krum's direction.

"It's the last day of the Tournament," stated Hermione. "Try to be cordial."

Ron rolled his eye and lumbered past Fred and George whom began singing a song loud enough for the room to hear about Ron's undying love for Viktor.

"Such jerks," stated Hermione shaking her head.

"Yeah," mumbled Tessa as she glanced at the Hufflepuff table.

Cedric was alone, for once. He stared at his bowl sloshing his oatmeal in circles.

Tessa walked away from Hermione, whom continued to talk about Krum unaware that she was gone. She weaved between standing first years muttering something about Harry and sat in the open bench, across from Cedric.

"Didn't anyone tell you not to play with your food," said Tessa with a smirk on her face. Cedric looked up at her and sputtered with a dribble of milk running down his chin, and quickly wiped it away with the sleeve of his robe.

"I wanted to say Good Luck," continued Tessa.

"Even though you hope Harry will beat me to it," said Cedric jokingly.

"Of course what kind friend would I be," responded Tessa. They both laughed in unison and the silence settled once more.

"So you're Seventeen now," said Cedric awkwardly. "Not like that I- I mean."

"I know what you mean," laughed Tessa. "And now we can actually play Quidditch outside if you want."

"What do you mean?" Asked Cedric chuckling.

"The Weasley's have an Orchard and a swamp surrounding their home," said Tessa with a smile. "And I'm really hoping we could play Quidditch during the times I visit. I can't play against the Fred and George on my own."

"What about Ron," said Cedric winking at her.

Tessa scoffed and Cedric laughed heartily causing some students to look in their direction.

"You would be a better teammate," said Tessa quietly as eyes still lingered on the two.

"I suppose you're right," sighed Cedric stretching his arms over his head. "I am pretty good."

"Oh whatever," said Tessa sarcastically. "You're the worst."

"Absolutely," laughed Cedric.

"Give'em hell," said Tessa quietly.

"I will see you on the-." Cedric paused for a moment squinting lightly. "Swamp?"

They both laughed as Tessa stood and began walking away.

"Goodbye, Cedric," said Tessa over shoulder.

"Bye, Tess," shouted Cedric smiling at the back of her head.

"So what were you on about with Cedric, Tess," interrogated Ron as the stands were now filled with jovial spectators.

"She doesn't have to tell you a thing Ron," spat Hermione.

"It does when he's the enemy," responded Ron annoyed.

"Ron stop," groaned Tessa. "I was wishing him good luck, Bloody hell."

"More than luck, probably," grumbled Ron.

"What's the with him," stated Tessa to Fred.

"He gets one kiss from a girl and thinks he's a big shot," stated Fred rolling his eyes.

"Got a mouth to prove it," said George. "But he'll never get a chance like that again."

"Not when we're here," said The twins in unison.

"How long do you think it'll take for one of them to give up?" Asked Fred. Tessa felt his breath at the nap of her neck giving her chills.

"Don't know," said Tessa eying the Professors staring at the entrance of the Maze.

"I reckon-," said Ron with a smirk.

"-No on cares Ron," said George interrupting him.

"Sod off," spat Ron glaring at George and turned back to the center of the ring.

"Stop," said Tessa quickly.

Fred and George looked at her as though she killed her cat. Tessa rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Dumbledore whom was raising his wand to his neck.

"THIRTY MINUTES HAVE PASSED," shouted Dumbledore.

Tessa, Fred and George sighed as Fred pulled out a notepad and scratched A name off at the thirty minute mark. Tessa smiled lightly as she watched a Ravenclaw boy put his head in his hands a few benches below them.

"Why is it that everyone thinks Fleur will be first out?" Asked Tessa looking at Fred's notepad.

"Because she's a girl," interrupted Hermione before Fred could even speak.

Tessa nodded staring at the hedges that enclosed the champions in the maze moments beforehand. Above the hedge, red sparks littered the air as people began to cheer and talk amongst themselves. Within minutes Fleur and Professor McGonagall appeared before them.

"Knew it," said Ron as he watch Fleur shakily sit on a bench with Madame Maxime glaring at Dumbledore as if she had been cheated the win.

"You didn't know anything," spat Hermione. "She's been an excellent Champion. She obviously had something happen to her that she set off a flare."

Ignoring Hermione, Ron turned to Fred and George his hand out. "Pay up," stated Ron with a devilish smirk.

"You didn't make the bet at the thirty minute mark," said Fred and George in unison. Fred held up his notepad showing Ron's bet scribbled out at fifteen minutes.

"That's Bollocks," shouted Ron.

"We told you beforehand you can't, only, make a bet on who comes out first," stated Fred nonchalantly. "But when."

"Stupid. fricking," grumbled Ron as he turned around and stared at the Maze.

Tessa stared at Fleur for quit sometime until the Durmstrang section began shouting and groaning. Tessa looked up to see Krum disoriented and Mad-Eye holding his neck interrogating him as Karkaroff was shouting and raising his fist in Mad-eye's direction.

"Looks like we'll win", whispered Angelina in Tessa's ear.

Tessa smirk and turned to Angelina winking at her.

"Hey, you cant make a bet," stated a student next to Angelina.

"Are you trying to be just or mad because you're name was scribbled out before the Task even began," said Tessa nonchalantly staring up at Lavender Brown.

"No, but you're obviously dating the person who is," spat Lavender. "It's not fair. And anyone could've tripped over their robes in front of us!"

Angelina laughed along with other students overhearing the conversation.

"Lavender, because they're friends doesn't mean Tessa can't makes bets," laughed Angelina patting Lavender on the shoulder whom quickly shoved it off. Angelina winked at Tessa whom blushed lightly.

"Besides," stated George as he turned to her. "We are also making bets."

"That's the whole point of gambling, love," stated Fred tapping the notebook and shaking his head. "Anyone can make bets at anytime."

"Hell even McGonagall could've made a bet, and it would be fair," laughed Ron. Fred slapped Ron with the notepad and stared at him, until he turned around and began talking to Shamus and Dean on who'll win.

"Not that McGonagall would, of course," sighed Fred. "But why would we spoil the fun."

"I could tell her what you're doing," responded Lavender hastily.

"And lose your social integrity?" Asked Fred. George sighed and shook his head.

"If you tell anyone we all lose our money," laughed Fred.

"Even could be expelled," quipped George. "All of us with our names on this notepad."

"Wanna be the one whom ruins people lives?" Asked Fred. "Lavender the rat?"

She stared wide eyed at Fred as if she was slapped in the face.

"I put a charm on the pad anyway," smirked Tessa staring at Lavender who's mouth tightened at the edges. "Even if you did rat us out. All traces would be gone. There'd be nothing but notes on Potions class."

"We've trained you well," said George smiling at Tessa happily.

Lavender puffed up her chest and stomped on the bench causing their seats to vibrate as she turned her attention back towards the maze.

Fred laughed as he wrapped his arms around Tessa's shoulders and turned her back around to face the Quidditch Pitch.

The last day of school was a grim one. Gray, almost black, clouds loomed over the Castle, and the wind was harsh enough that Tessa had her back turned staring at the castle rather than at the lake. Her gaze loomed over the shadowed towers and down to the archway as a red-haired boy walked in her direction.

"Thought you were going for a run," said Fred looming over Tessa whom hadn't looked up at him yet.

"Too windy," replied Tessa playing with her finger nails.

"Yet you're still outside," sighed Fred as he sat next to her on the bench. "We have to leave soon."

"I know," said Tessa. "Packed up my bags last night. Nox is with Hermione."

"Harry gave us money to start the joke shop," said Fred excitedly.

Tessa sniffled lightly as her nose began to run. She wiper her face, with her hoodie, quickly and turned her head away from Fred.

"Tess," said Fred concerned he wrapped his arms around her letting Tessa sob into his woolly sweater.

"I love your mum," sputtered Tessa. "But this sweater fucking hurts."

Fred laughed as he hugged her tighter.

"I didn't think I'd still be crying," groaned Tessa. Her voice muffled by Fred's sweater.

"It's only been a month," said Fred soothingly. "It'll get better I promise."

Tessa's sniffling began to slow and she hugged Fred tighter. He held her for quite sometime until a light roll of thunder loomed above the skies.

"Let's go eat breakfast," said Fred as he lifted her head away from his chest and wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "Treats on the train are a rubbish meal."

Tessa laughed rubbing her nose once more.

"At least, I got to say Goodbye," whimpered Tessa trying to smile as Fred helped her up from the bench and escorted her into the Castle.


	23. The Last Day of Summer

Tessa walked briskly across the congested street and into Hyde Park. It was foggy and quiet which is exactly what Tessa wanted as she sat at a bench and quickly made a paper airplane. She held the paper object close to her mouth and threw it into the air as it slowly made circles above her head and zoomed into the direction of Grimmauld Place. She stood quickly and followed the plane floating daintily above the tree line. A half an hour later she stood in a little park surrounded by tan buildings.

"Took you long enough," said Fred as he ran up to Tessa hugging her tightly.

"Had to take the scenic route," laughed Tessa as Fred let go of her. "Besides I saw you last night."

"Doesn't matter," stated Fred. "Still missed you."

Tessa blushed as she let Fred take her hand leading her to a shed in a heavily forested portion of the garden. Tessa giggled as she spotted an older woman glaring at them by a fountain in the center. Fred pushed her in and closed the door behind them as the older woman shook her head.

A second later Tessa was in the hall of the Sirius' home. She gasped and began to coughed from the dust that kicked up from their apparition. She looked took a longer look of the hallway not illuminated by light instead of dim lamps. The wallpaper was a faded baroque design and ripping off at the edges. She tripped over a lump in the hall way rug, and Fred caught her smirking at her nearly kneeling towards his waist.

"If you wanted that," said Fred quietly. "You could've asked when we're in my room."

Tessa pushed out of his grip and they both laughed as Fred nudged her to open the door into the chattering kitchen.

"Tess," said Harry excitedly he stood up and hugged her tight as he motioned her to sit down at the long table.

"Where's the adults," said Tessa looking around at the meal before her.

"They're having a meeting," said Hermione without looking up from her book.

"Hello to you too," muttered Tessa as she sat in between Fred and George and reached for a buttermilk biscuit.

"It's not that hard to use Ron," spat Harry quietly as he sauntered into the room.

Ron followed shaking two ears tangled in rubber like strings.

"Oi," shouted the twins in unison.

"Crookshanks," sputtered Ron putting the tangled ears behind his back.

"Ronald," spat Hermione closing her book and Crookshanks leaping from her lap.

"Hey Tess," said Harry as the twins cornered Ron yanking the ears out of his hands and untying them visibly annoyed.

"Hello," mumbled Tessa. "Nice to see that invention came to life."

"It's very handy," retorted Harry smiling lightly.

"Handy indeed," replied Fred over his shoulder.

"So," said Harry sitting next to Tessa before the twins could. "How long will you be here?"

"Until their finished talking," said Tessa nonchalantly. "Maybe stay the night."

"What are they doing?" Asked Harry leaning closer into Tessa.

"I know as much as you do," sighed Tessa winking at Hermione.

Harry nodded looking unsatisfied by her answer. Tessa glanced at Fred whom smiled slyly and both apparated from the table onto the stairwell.

"Come on," said Fred excitedly leading Tessa to his and George's room.

The room was musty and worn like the rest of the home. The walls were faded and barren with slight remnants of vine ladened wallpaper in a deep shade of green. The posted beds were sturdy, however with fresh linens that smelled of lavender when Tessa laid upon it.

"How was the Quidditch thing," said Fred quietly as he laid next to Tessa.

"It went well," said Tessa her stomach churning as she watched Fred situate to lean on his left arm, his body facing hers. "I'm red shirted."

"What?" Asked Fred lifting Tessa up into a seated position. "When?"

"I was told last week," said Tessa crossing her legs and facing Fred. Their knees touched as Tessa rubbed her arms anxiously.

"You know what that means don't you," stated Fred excitedly.

"No," laughed Tessa.

"I get to be your arm candy. Skeeter and her goons will go mad over the dynamic duo," said Fred with a smirk. "We'll be unstoppable as a business tycoon ca-noodling with the star Quidditch player."

Tessa's cheeks turned bright red as Fred laughed leaning in closer. A pop enveloped the room causing Fred to lean away as George jump onto the bed causing it to groan from the additional weight.

"Move will you," laughed George as he picked Tessa up and forced her to create a triangle between the three of them.

"Tessa's a Professional Quidditch player now," said Fred proudly.

"Ahhhhh," said George. "Moving up the ladder with us I see. Knew you couldn't stay away for too long."

"Oh shut it," laughed Tessa. "I'm not playing yet."

"Oh you will," said Fred. "Don't sell yourself short. Not even with us."

Tessa nodded smiling.

"So who's the lucky team," said George placing his face in his heads and leaning on his knee. "The holy head harpies."

"Knew it," said the twins in unison.

Tessa rolled her eyes.

"But what about Quidditch this year," Asked George.

"Can't play," said Tessa quietly.

"Ah now you didn't tell me that," said Fred sullenly.

"It's our last year Tess," said George.

"We were supposed to play Quidditch, pull pranks," said Fred.

"We'll still do all of that," interjected Tessa. "Just not academically."

Fred and George nodded smiling lightly.

"I can still play for fun, and I'll have more time to help out with your business," said Tessa optimistically.

Fred and George smiled lightly relaxing into the bed, until, a knock at the door jolted the three into action. Fred threw the invention across the room and apparated into the stairwell with Tessa and George behind him.


	24. The Business Meeting

Tessa looked out at the crowd as her Mother and Father were having a seemingly serious to Mrs. Weasley and Tonks. It looked the same; no red haired towers insight.

"You need to get on the train dear," said Mrs. Weasley quietly.

Tessa looked up to she Mrs. Weasley and her parents smiling at her.

"Please," said her Mother. "We'll see you soon."

"Okay," sighed Tessa. She hugged all three and saluted Tonks, whom giggled lightly saluting back, and leaped onto the cart waving goodbye one last time and entered the crowded hallway.

She weaved and bobbed through the crowd until she found an empty compartment. She unlocked the door and struggle to push it open and quickly shut it behind her sighing.

She placed her backpack on the chair and sat by it looking out the window. Two lanky red heads weaved through the crowd on the platform and Tessa lobbed her head back in relief. She unzipped her bag as two ears and steely green eyes popped out inspecting the surroundings.

"You okay Nyx," laughed Tessa as the cat hopped out of the bag and stretched onto the sofa knocking the bag to the ground.

Tessa quickly bent over picking up the items as Nyx kneaded the chair purring. Tessa zipped her bag and tossed onto the sofa across from her and sat back into her seat. The moment she settled herself the door sung open causing her to jump and Nyx to arch her back growling, her tail perfectly fluffed.

"Way to pick the rooms," laughed George sarcastically. He barged into the compartment smacking Nyx with his case sending her leaping into Tessa's lap. "Sorry."

"The cat deserved it," said Fred jokingly as he came in after throwing his things on the rack above Tessa's head and sat across from her letting Lee barge in and close the door behind him.

"We've got about ten minutes," stated Lee excitedly. He threw his trunk above Fred's head sitting beside him. "Everything alright Tess."

"Pardon," said Tessa looking away from the window.

"You look like someone broke your heart," joked Lee smiling.

"Oh," laughed Tessa. "I don't understand why my parents came with me to King's Cross today."

"Why?" Asked Lee as Fred and George shifted in their seats awkwardly.

"Well I always come with the Weasleys or by myself," stated Tessa quietly. "In seven years, this is the second time my parents have taken me to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

"Well it is our last year you know," stated Lee happily. "Maybe they wanted to say goodbye in person."

"Yeah," said Tessa quietly.

The train lurched forward and the twins immediately began pulling out notes, pens, and candy from every pocket imaginable. Lee and Tessa looked on amazed as George closed the blinds to prying eyes.

"What's this," stated Lee looking at a candy wrapped in deep green paper with purple stripes.

"I wouldn't eat that if I were you," said Tessa quickly as he began to unwrap the oblong shaped piece.

"It'll male you puke your guts out," said Fred excitedly.

"Haven't made an antidote yet," stated George quickly looking through their notes. "But what Fred said is pretty accurate."

"He was in the bathroom for hours," laughed Fred as he watched Lee examine to brightly colored candy.

"How'd you even make this," sated Lee astonished.

"Well it's easy when mum's mind is elsewhere," said George shrugging.

"And it really has been elsewhere recently," mumbled Fred.

Tessa nudged him lightly with her foot merely causing him to wink at her and trying to intertwine their feet making her pull back in shock. He smiled at her even more staring her down until she looked away, her hair raised on her arms.

"That's where you come in Tess," stated George without looking up from the notes. "We need some research and since you're not playing Quidditch this year-"

"Whoa, Whoa," interrupted Lee. "You're not playing Quidditch? This is your last year."

"I've signed to the Holyhead Harpies," said Tessa quickly. "So not allowed to play Quidditch for a year."

"How's that even possible," said Lee not impressed. "You haven't even graduated yet."

"I went to some training camps with Wood over the Summer and the Harpies recruiter was there for some of them so now I'm red shirted," said Tessa nervously.

"Well bloody hell," said Lee happily. "Congrats are in order when we get a chance to do so. First round of Butter Beer is on me at Hogsmeade."

"Sounds like a plan," said Tessa happily. The twins nodded in agreement.

"Now back to business," stated George quickly. "We need you to research what's working and what's not."

"How so," stated Tessa.

"For example," said Fred. "Say we make a new candy and we have some First years test it."

"And," said Tessa.

"And they go to the Hospital wing, or they loved it- don't get mad it's consensual-," stated Fred quickly shushing Tessa's objections. "When you get back with research know we need to lower the dosage in the candy or throw it out entirely and make perfect the flaws."

"Fine," said Tessa. "Lemme know when to begin and I will."

"Good," said the twins excitedly.

The train ride was a business meeting, mostly catching up on products that worked, and didn't, what needed to be perfect, and what needed to be scraped entirely. This continued for hours until the train slowed to a halt.

"Blimey," said Fred jokingly. "Look at the time."

It was dark outside. The lamps illuminating the carriages outside were brighter than usual causing Tessa to look toward the ground as she jumped into the carriage with Rosie purring in her lap snuggling closer to keep warm.

Fred jumped in quickly behind her. Sitting closer than usual. Resting his bag between his legs causing their knees to touch the entire ride to the castle. Tessa's cheeks flushed as the three guys talked animatedly to each other. She stared down at Fred's thigh touching hers creating a bridge as Nyx stretched out of her lap and nestled into his. The carriage came to a halt at the castle entrance as Fred held Nyx and helped Tessa out of the carriage.

"Same old school," sighed Lee. "Can't wait to see you go."

"Yeah," grumbled George as he followed Lee up the steps with Fred and Tessa in tow.

"Are you going to carry her all night," laughed Tessa as she watched Fred hold Nyx purring loudly in his arms.

"Of course," said Fred as if he were offended. "I was chosen."

Tessa, Lee, and George laughed as Fred stroked Nyx lovingly not breaking. They reached Great Hall as Fred sat Nyx down by the mountains of luggage and trunks. The group into the Great Hall grew larger and larger as everyone sat in their respective seats waiting for the ceremony to begin.


	25. A Basic First Week

"Why do you have toast," laughed Tessa as Fred and George burst through the study room's door.

"It would've been warmer if you hadn't moved the study room so bloody far from the Great Hall," scoffed Fred.

"Oh come off it," laughed Tessa. "You know we have to move around now."

The room was smaller in size compared to their old one they nearly occupied their entire school career. Yet, it had walls lined with bookcases for easy, and temporary, storage, tall windows that actually opened to let out fumes from the cauldron, and it was so dusty that none has seen it's interior for several terms.

"We don't have our equipment," sighed George dabbing the hot goo from the cauldron onto a slice of toast and taking a bite wiping the edges of his mouth in disgust.

"We have what we can make do with," stated Tessa mildly annoyed. "We need to be mobile and be able to keep things hidden."

"You're worried over nothing," laughed Lee. "We won't get caught."

"All I'm trying to do is keep this thing going," said Tessa through gritted teeth. "Without interruptions."

"Alright, Alight," sighed Lee in response as he began rolling a cooled portion of goo from the cauldron on the table and waving his wand over it cutting the loaf into tiny pieces bite sized pieces.

George,sitting in the corner began holding his nose, blood seeping through his finger as Fred ran over with a rag and shoving towards his face.

"Well wasn't an antidote," sputtered George growing pale.

It had been a week since their conversation in the Common Room ended, and they've moved to four different study rooms, and a broom closet, since then. Fred walked over to the other side of the room bumping into chairs and tables as he weaved through the tight space. He pulled out his notebook and wrote a big 'X' over half of a page.

"I hate moving," sighed Fred as he walked back to George whose nose stopped bleeding and was now wiping his hands and fingers with the stained rag. He reached for the rest of the toast and jam stuffing his face.

"We have to," said Tessa quietly. "Better get a move on we've got class in twenty minutes."

Lee and Tessa cleaned the room quickly and hid the ingredients from sit. With a wave of Tessa wand, dust resettled in the areas cleaned off and off they went to their first period class. Fred helped George stand and helped him half way through the hall until he reached a bathroom helping was his face and hands before catching up to Tessa whom was already on the Grand staircase following the crowd up the stair towards Divination.

The rest of the day was dismal. Classes were relatively normal minus DADA, which was the first time in any class that Tessa received a poor grade for an essay and seeing the smug, yet empathetic smile on Professor Umbridge's face when handed back her homework made it worse.

She sat in the tiny study room glaring outside at the Pitch as Fred and George began hiding materials and cauldrons in shadowed corners of the room.

"Don't bother," sighed Tessa. "I'm looking for another place before I head to the Common Room."

George nodded as he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room with Lee whom stuffed candies in his pockets asking where to go for the first round of research closing the door behind him.

"You sure?" Asked Fred placing a freshly cleaned cauldron on top of the table and walking towards her from the corner of the room.

Tessa nodded quickly without looking up at him. Fred placed a hand on Tessa's shoulder making her turn towards him and wrapped his arms around her hugging her lightly.

"Everything will be okay," said Fred quietly.

"Usually you make fun of me for being so upset over stupid grades," laughed Tessa hugging him tighter.

"Not this time," said Fred glaring at the door behind Tessa's head. "Even Hermione said that your essay was excellent. She looked envious at one point."

"Batty old-," Tessa paused mumbled incoherent words as Fred laughed at her pulling her away at arm's length.

"Don't worry about it," said Fred. "You are a Professional Quidditch player. That woman can stuff it, even if you barely pass this year. Won't matter."

Tessa nodded lightly.

"I'll see you in the Common Room alright," said Fred smiling lightly.

"Yeah," said Tessa. "Have to find some first years that stayed in a bathroom too long after lunch."

"Those poor blokes," laughed Fred quietly.

"Eh," shrugged Tessa. "They got to miss class at least."

She watched Fred walked around her and open the door closing it behind him. She walked the room and began picking up scattered notes and vials of ingredients stuffing them into her satchel. She grabbed the cauldron Fred left on the table and walked out of the room leaving behind traces of them being there. She secretly hoped Filch would somehow find it and begin looking for them. Doing this business was getting too easy.

The Common Room was empty, minus Hermione, as Tessa leaped off the last step and sat opposite to her at the table, Hermione already making room for her things.

"Thought you'd be at Quidditch practice," joked Hermione as she stack her books higher than table beside their feet.

"Nah," said Tessa opening her Defense Against The Dark Arts book on a Chapter detailing the exact way to hide if one decides to attack you, specifically in a wooded area and seemingly no where else. Tessa rolled her eyes and begin reading scribbling notes on the side of the book rather than using parchment.

"Wouldn't she get upset," said Hermione surprised.

"Who cares," said Tessa. "It's my book anyways. Not hers."

Hermione nodded approvingly and continued writing her essay. Pen scratching parchment enveloped the room for a moment when th scribbling stopped and Tessa looked up to see Hermione staring at her awkwardly.

"So…how's everything going," said Hermione cautiously. "I saw-,"

She paused trying to think of what to say. "I noticed. That you left the Great Hall around the same time I did, but you were an hour later than me to reach here."

"And," said Tessa her eyes glinting and a smile creeping along her face.

"Well I was wondering how is that possible," stated Hermione seriously.

"Well," said Tessa quickly. "I decided that it was time to go for a walk."

"A walk," stated Hermione visibly not buying it.

"Yes," said Tessa nonchalantly. "Around the castle. I mean it is a perfect time to go. Not very busy. And it's my last year." She smiled at Hermione who grew perplexed and her cheeks turning a shade of pink. "So, why not get my bearings of the castle one last time. Who knows when I'll see it again."

"I suppose," said Hermione furling her brow. "But I know you lot are doing something. I'll figure it out eventually."

Tessa laughed as she closed her DADA book and opened her notes she had taken in Divination. "Wouldn't it be easier to catch someone actually doing something," joked Tessa. "I saw Pansy and Malfoy making out in the Hall of Hexes earlier. Maybe you wanna check that out."

"I'm perfectly fine here thanks," stated Hermione. "But I'll check tomorrow to see if anyone else is lurking about."

Tessa smiled slyly as she watched Hermione open a book writing "Patrol Hall of Hexes" in it underneath a slew of other tasks for tomorrow and shutting it quickly from her peeping eyes. However, what Hermione didn't know is that Tessa didn't leave through the Hall of Hexes, but rather walked through it from a trap door that lead from the Dungeons and merely eyed the two moaning in a corner getting Tessa's attention enough to mumble a spell that tied their laces together in a knot between their feet for a nice surprise later. This time, their room was only a few doors away from the Gryffindor entrance; their materials stuffed at the top of recently cleaned Broom Closet situated next to a very used study room that had a door, blocked conspicuously by desks, leading to another room that wasn't.

"Good," said Tessa quickly as she scribbled additional notes on the page in front of her watching Hermione's lips curl into a smirk.


	26. Hogsmeade

What are you doing whispered Tessa happily. She peered over the girl's stairwell at Fred below her.

"I've got an idea," whispered Fred. "Help me a man out."

"Hang on," sighed Tessa.

"Don't forget your wand," chimed Fred.

Tessa ran upstairs tiptoeing into her room and snatching her wand from her trunk. She quietly eased the door behind her and lightly let go of the knob when she heard a click. She tiptoed back to the downstairs and leaned over looking for Fred whom waved from across the room sitting on the couch by the fireplace.

"Alright so what is that you want?" Asked Tessa quietly sitting next to him.

Fred looked up at her with a smirk as he leaned in closer sneaking an arm around her. He lightly pushed her down hovering over her as he placed one hand at the back of the chair and one by her shoulder.

"Thanks for helping me out," joked Fred as he pressed his body against hers and began kissing her passionately.

Tessa obliged running her hand over his arm and into his shaggy hair grabbing lightly. Fred stopped kissing her and began unbuttoning his shirt trying to shuck it off his shoulders and then threw it across the room.

"Bloody hell we slept in again," said Fred in a female voice as he pressed into Tessa once more. "Wake up!"

Tessa jolted out of her bed after a soft yet large object smacked her in the face.

"Merlin, fucking watch it!" Shouted Tessa as she threw the pillow back at Angelina whom was already throwing off her pj's and hopping around the room trying to put on leg through her jeans.

"Get up," shouted in Angelina.

Tessa threw her duvet off her bed and leaped put of bed. She ran to her wardrobe yanking a pair, pair of jeans and coat while ripping off her pj's and throwing them on the ground. Angelina ran past her foaming at the mouth from brushing her teeth and trying to put on a shoe. Tessa threw on her shirt and hoped into her jeans. She picked up her sneakers and coat shoulder.

Angelina ran into the bathroom and began spitting into a sink. Tessa glanced at her quickly before diving underneath her bed and snagging a brown sack stuffing it into her bag and into the Bathroom.

All in all it took both of them five minutes to change, do their hair, and brush their teeth before running out of the Common Room and down the Grand Staircase.

"When I find those two I'm gonna wring their neck for this," spat Angelina a few inches behind Tessa nearly scuffing one of her heels as Tessa seemed to be the slower one of the two this time round. "They know better than to keep the curtains closed and turn all of the alarms off".

Tessa tuned Angelina out once they hit the Great Hall entrance. Her stomach lurched as she watched Fred laughing heartily at the center table unaware that Angelina veered off the the right towards Alicia and Katie laughing with Ginny Weasley.

"That's not funny."

She heard Angelina shout as that table howled with laughter. Tessa sat next to Fred as she tried to eat a slice of toast that seemed to be harder to swallow than usual.

"You looked like you've seen a ghost, Tess," joked George as Nearly Headless Nick floated past glancing at the group.

"Katie and Alicia let us sleep in," stated Tessa annoyed as she grabbed a glass of orange juice to help wash down remnants of the toast.

"From what I heard it seemed like you had a great dream," said George laughing.

Tessa's face grew bright red and the group laughed.

"Katie and Alicia told us that you and Angelina wouldn't wake up even when the alarm blasted by your head," joked Lee.

"They had to get up and turn it off themselves," piped in Fred laughing.

Tessa's cheeks faded to a slight pink and relaxed into her seat.

"He'll be the death of me," thought Tessa as she glanced at Fred and began inhaling her breakfast before it could vanish.

It took only a few seconds to walk out of the Great Hall after finishing breakfast before Tessa felt a familiar arm wrap around her shoulder.

Tessa's chest grew light letting Fred lead her outside.

"Where will the meeting-"

Tessa paused as she watched Filch stare down the twins once they were in view. Fred took his arm off of her shoulder and sauntered passed Filch diverting his attention to Him and George when, in fact, Tessa and Lee were the ones pocketing the goods. Filch examined the two as if looking for any materials poking out of his pockets while Tessa and Lee stood at the outskirts of the group passing through quickly.

"Bloody hell," sighed Lee walking down the winding path. "Shouldn't he know by now that the twins aren't that oblivious."

"Good thing he doesn't," laughed Tessa.

"Merlin's beard," laughed Fred behind Lee as he slowed is jogging to a walk.

"Bloody Filch began questioning us," huffed George as he slowed beside Tessa.

"About what?" Asked Tessa.

"Orders and if we were going to the owlery," scoffed Fred. "Yes. We will be going to there rather than Hogsmeade." Fred began applauding sarcastically. "Great investigative work."

Tessa and Lee laughed as the tiny village came into view. The main street was busy as George veered Tessa into an empty alley way. She began rummaging in her bag until she pulled out the sack handing it to George.

"Meet us at Zonko's," said George quickly before he merged back onto main street stuffing the sack into his coat pocket and disappearing into the crowd.

Tessa walked along the street and veered into Tomes and Scrolls. She fiddled with notebooks and bought two. She meandered down a residential street she had never seen before and glanced at people front yards before reaching the each of the village and turning back around. She reached Zonko's in time to see Fred, George, and Lee crossing the street to enter after her.

"Had a good time?" Asked Fred as he entered the crowded store behind her.

"Yeah," said Tessa grabbing sweets out of jars and cupboards.

"Don't forget about those," said Fred resting his chin on her shoulder pointing at stink bombs nestled in a clothed basket.

Tessa nodded her cheeks turning pink and pulled out the basket grabbing a handful and walking to the counter. She paid for her items and hurried out of the store letting to cold air envelope her. She let out a breath of air and sat on a bench, flustered, shucking off her coat. She peered into the store's window watching Fred and George examine products and placing them back onto the shelf, or placing them into a basket. She turned back around quickly and stared at the bustling street.

"We gotta go."

Tessa looked up to see George standing over her holding the door open for Fred and Lee to exit the store. She stood up quickly shucking her coat back on and following the three towards Hogshead. The meeting lasted quicker than expected as Tessa signed the sheet and passed it to George. She followed the twins out of Hogshead listening to their plans for buying materials and ingredients before heading back to Hogwarts.

"Alright now that that's sorted," sighed Fred after arguing with George over whether to budget on potions ingredients to gather better equipment for experiments. "Tess are you still going to the Three Broomsticks?"

"And Madame Pudifoot's Tea Shop," replied Tessa veering off towards the latter waving goodbye to the group.

She entered into the dainty shop and glanced at the coupled up tables until finding two people seemingly smitten in a corner hidden by the fireplace. She sat at an empty table near the two and took off her layers immediately due to the searing heat. She glanced at the girl with the buy in disgust before getting up from the table and exiting the store. She watched the girl turn around and blow a kiss before closing the door behind her.

She glanced back the the boy whom looked smug easing into his chair and resting his arm onto the window next to him. His clothing was askew, his button down shirt displaying part of his chest, and hair tussled in every direction. Tessa stood from her seat and sat grabbed the chair by his knees dragging it loudly to the other side of the table and sitting in it.

"Looks like you're having fun Daniel," said Tessa with a broad smile plastered on her face.

"You have no idea," replied the fourth year Hufflepuff student lazily. "Dirty minx she is."

Tessa groaned lightly. Daniel stared out of the window with puppy like eyes and knocked on it lightly waving.

"So how are you feeling?" Asked Tessa quickly.

"I'm in love," whispered the boy smiling. He giggled lightly as Tessa peaked out of the window to see the girl blowing one more kiss at him and entering the Three Broomsticks.

"Excellent," thought Tessa.

"How long have you two been known each other?" she continued staring down at the boys tea half full.

"Oh we met in First period," replied the Daniel happily. He reached for his cup and Tessa placed a hand over it quickly.

"Oh this tea is too cold to drink," laughed Tessa as the boy mimicked her. "I'll buy you a new one."

Within seconds two piping hot cups of tea was placed before them as she poured milk and a small vial filled with a purple into Daniel's drink as he continued staring out the window handing it to him and pouring sugar into hers.

"So first period you say?" Asked Tessa waiting for Daniel to continue.

"Yes," sighed Daniel happily. "At first I thought her to be too much. You know I'm not much for talkative girls. But when she asked me for a cup of tea, I got lost in her eyes and-."

Daniel paused quickly and laughed.

"Well I actually don't remember much after that."

Tessa smirked lightly as she watched him take a swig of his tea and stare back out at the window.

"We're supposed to eat dinner together tonight," continued Daniel happily.

"That seems like a great idea," said Tessa happily. "And you only realized you liked her after having a cup of tea?"

"Yes," said Daniel happily. He picked up the cup again as Tessa picked up hers drinking as well.

She chugged the entire drink ignoring the tea lightly burning her throat.

"So you only thought of her in that manner until you had a conversation with her?" Asked Tessa quietly.

Daniel looked at her confused.

"I love her," said Daniel quickly. He glared at Tessa defensively leaning forward in his chair.

"Right," chuckled Tessa. "I mean one-on-one of course. Love never, truly, reveals itself until you've had time alone. Right?"

Daniel's face grew from annoyed to happy once more as he leaned back into his chair.

"You're right," agreed Daniel. "And yeah. I guess I never thought of her until a moment ago."

"Well good luck to you both," said Tessa. Daniel smiled at her appreciatively as he watched her stand up from the table. "Remember to finish that tea. Don't want it to get cold."

Daniel nodded picking up the cup once more and taking a huge gulp setting it back onto the table wiping his chin with his sleeve. Tessa put on her coat and slung her bag over her shoulder walking towards the exit.

"And button up your shirt," said Tessa over her shoulder as she opened the door and glanced behind her to see Daniel fiddling with his shirt giggling. She closed the door behind her and walked briskly across the street to Three Broomsticks.

She opened the door and walked over to the bar sitting at a stool.

"Butter beer please?" Asked Tessa as she placed some galleons on the table and looked around the room.

"Shit," thought Tessa. The girl from earlier was no where to be found.

The bottom floor consisted mostly of Seventh years, like herself drinking Fire whiskey and having too much of a good time. She looked at her bar mates next to her whom were older than the students. Tessa sighed and grabbed her Butter beer about to take a sip until she heard laughter echoing from the second floor. Tessa stood up immediately nearly spilling her drink on the gentleman with his head resting on the table next to her.

"No worries dear," chuckled the bar maid. "He's been like that for an hour. Not a care in the world."

Tessa smiled and veered towards the stair climbing them to the top. She saw the girl gathered with her friends an one extra Tessa. Exactly what Tessa requested last night after their meeting.

"Tess!"

The girl waved excitedly as Tessa smiled in return and sat at the empty seat.

"Hey Tess," said a girl to the right nervously her cheeks turning pink.

"How's it going," said Tessa pulling out the notebooks she bought earlier and placing on the table by her Butterbeer.

"Oh, Merlin," sighed the girl happily. "So well!"

The rest of the girls began giggling covering their mouths as Tessa began writing in her notebook.

"That's excellent, Gabbie," laughed Tessa The same smile she gave Daniel earlier. "How much of that potion did you use by the way?"

"All of it," said the girl quickly as she and her friends giggled.

Tessa smiled writing in her notebook and glancing back up at her.

"How fast did the potion take?"

"Oh," sighed Gabbie visibly flustered. "Like a minute. He took one sip of the drink and next thing I know his feet are intertwined with mine and he even toughed my thigh." She squealed with excitement as did her friends. All the while Tessa's smile faltering lightly, but turned it back up again before the girls could see.

"Could you put down for an order," said the Hufflepuff girl to her left excitedly.

"Sure," replied Tessa writing down the girls name as the rest of the group chimed in too. "If I give you one vial all five of you could split it. Even you Gabbie." Gabbie giggled as Tessa winked at her lightly.

"A fifth of the bottle will have the same affect for each of you," continued Tessa writing their names and houses down while nabbing the five galleons splayed on the table shoving into her coat pocket. "No hoarding this time Gabs." She waved her quill glancing at Gabbie as the entire table laughed gleefully.

Tessa stood from the table and finished her Butter beer before placing back on the table and shoving her note book in her bag. "One of the twins will meet you again next Saturday. Same place and time," said Tessa pointing at Gabby as she turned pink and nodded vigorously. Tessa turned around as the girls whispered cheerily.

"Did you see her wink at me," whispered the Ravenclaw girl happily.

"No she was at me," piped in the nervous Hufflepuff that greeted her earlier.

"She called me Gabs," whispered Gabbie gleefully.

Tessa huffed and walked down the steps towards a table at the bottom of the building away from the girl's view she nodded at the barmaid for another round holding up four fingers and sitting back down into a chair, this time taking off her coat, pulling out her note book, and writing her research on Daniel from earlier. The Barmaid placed the drinks onto her table greeting a tall group of boys heading their way.

"Thanks," said Tessa glancing up at her. "He'll be paying this time." She whispered pointing at Fred whom glared at her and pulled out some coins handing it to the barmaid stifling a chuckle. Laughter echoed to the room once more as George rolled his eyes and sat down next to Tessa's left, Fred on across from her, and Lee on her right.

"So how's it?" Asked Fred curtly. "Now that I'm out eight sickles."

"It went well," sighed Tessa still writing in her notebook. "But she poured the entire thing."

The three boys groaned as Fred rubbed his temples.

"Good thing I gave her a small vial and not the entire bottle," sighed Fred. " I told her to put in a few drops."

"Yeah well she had a slight of hand," grumbled Tessa. "She asked for more, by the way." Tessa pulled out the galleon and placed it in George's extended hand. "For her and friends."

"Was he alright?" Asked Lee chugging his butter beer.

"Eh he's fine," replied Tessa. "Might have a massive headache tomorrow, but he ingested the antidote. Should wear off in his sleep."

"If he goes asleep," interjected George.

"It was a bit strong," said Tessa. "May need to test out another batch before handing them an entire bottle."

"We have about seven days?" Asked Fred.

"Yep," replied Tessa closing the notebook and placing it in her bag. "Same time and place."


	27. The Accident

"Should we test it," said Tessa nervously.

"We should," replied Fred staring into the aromatic potion.

He took in a breath and sighed happily. Tessa sighed with him staring at his face then down his torso.

"What do you smell?," Asked Fred.

Tessa leaned over the cauldron and sniffed the aromas letting out a breath. She inhaled once more and looked up at Fred.

"I smell rain on pavement," said Tessa. She glanced away from Fred's gaze and began stirring the mixture aromas surrounding her. "Chai, and Sunblock." The last part she whispered quietly making Fred turn around slowly a smile creeping along his face.

"I'm sorry," said Fred slyly. "Couldn't hear the last bit hear over the crackling of the wrappers."

Tessa's cheeks burned as Fred leaned on the table staring at her intently.

"Sunblock," sputtered Tessa louder. Her stomach felt as though it were in knots and her heart racing as she put down the spoon onto the table.

"What's that?" Asked Fred leaning into the table. He hovered over the pink swirling potion not letting go of her gaze.

"It's a muggle invention to protect you from the sun's rays," replied Tessa tying knots at the hem of her cardigan. "My parents make me use it when we have non-magical parties in the Summer."

"Interesting," said Fred leaning away from the table and leaning back onto ingredients filed table behind him.

Tessa quickly turned away and walked over to her cup by the door taking a sip. She felt Fred push up against her and knock the cup out of her hand.

"That one's mine," stated Fred as he pulled away from her quickly. Walking back towards the cauldron.

"But my cup-,"

"Across the room," stated Fred pacing nervously.

Tessa glanced at the single cup next to the broom closet from which they entered through earlier.

"Why does that matter," laughed Tessa watching Fred rummage through their potions box and shakily throwing ingredients into separate piles.

"How long have you been drinking out of my cup?," Asked Fred ignoring her.

"Since I've been here, I guess. I can't remember," she replied gazing at Fred lovingly.

Fred walked back to the table covered in ingredients and began rummaging through a box at the end.

"What kind of potion?" Asked Tessa. "Obviously it wasn't this one." She pointed at the cauldron still bubbling in the center of the room and walked slowly towards Fred boring her eyes into his back.

"One me and George made earlier," replied Fred quietly without looking up from the box.

"What kind?" Asked Tessa.

"I don't know," lied Fred his cheeks turning pink. "But it hasn't affected me yet so I don't-"

Tessa pushed Fred around and planted a kiss on his lips pushing up against the table causing the contents in the box fly in every direction. Fred wrapped an arm around her waist and let her push him into a sitting position onto the table top. She weaved her torso between his legs and yanked his hair lightly.

"Tess," sighed Fred trying to push her away.

She grabbed both of his hands restraining them onto the table. She kissed down his neck, lightly licking his collarbone and back up towards his mouth crawling onto the table straddling his hips. He glance down watching Tessa unzip her skirt revealing a small white line.

"Merlin, fu-."

Tessa placed a kiss on his lips as she freed one of his hands placing it on his knee, slowly massaging up his thigh. Fred grabbed her hand, and stood from the table wrapping his free hand around her waist forcing her legs to wrap around him. He walked across the room and slammed her against the wall causing Tessa to moan lightly.

He dropped her legs from his waist, placing both on the floor, and pushed away from her. He he looked around the room for his wand, occasionally, glancing at Tessa ripping her shirt and skirt off. She jumped into Fred forcing him to catch her. He fell against the table pulling away from the kiss and pushing Tessa's prying hands away from his belt buckle.

Tessa kissed down his neck again and pulling at his sweaters shoving her hands underneath rubbing his stomach pulling the pushing it up. He quickly reached for his, and Tessa's, wand beside the cauldron and pocketed hers holding his firmly in his hand.

"Where are you going," groaned Tessa lifting her head up from his shoulder; trying to pull the wand out of his grip.

"No where if you keep on doing that," sighed Fred as he looked down at her grinding into his groin. "Merlin's beard."

Fred shoved her off him long enough to apparate out of the room .

Tessa sat up from the floor quickly looking for Fred. She heard the door click sharply and bolted to it yanking at the knob that refused to budge.

"Fuck," spat Tessa she whirled around looking for her wand on the table with the now overflowing cauldron.

"Fred," shouted Tessa. She spun back at the door and rammed into it. "GIVE ME MY WAND!"

"I'll be back okay," said Fred through the door.

A loud thud responded to him as he turned around and ran down the hall to the Grand Staircase.

He made it to the Ground Floor and sprinted toward the library. He slowed to a stop at the entrance catching his breath before entering. He situated his sweater opened the door sauntering in.

He weaved through the shelves until he saw George writing in a notebook and walked faster to the table. He sat at it quickly causing his brother and Lee to jump.

"Well you're practically glowing," laughed George. "I'm assuming the potion worked?"

"It did but not on me," replied Fred.

George and Lee sat there unmoving for a minute until George reached for his bag by and began shoving notes in it.

"Stay here," instructed George as Fred nodding looking down at the mess. "And clean that up." He stood from his chair and walked briskly through the library. He exited the room and jogged to the Grand staircase.

"Bloody Hell," mumbled George. He ran up the stairs skipping one at a time and stopped half way wheezing. "Fucking. Hell."

He took in one last breath and ran up the last half of the staircase veering down the hall Fred ran through earlier. He ran into the broom closet connected to the study room. He shut the door behind him and quietly stood there with his hand on the knob. He pulled out a small vial from his pocket, and taking in a breath he pushed the other door open.

"Fred," shouted Tessa from across the room.

She whipped around wildly sprinting towards George. Once closer she slowed to a stop pouting.

"Come on, Tess," joked George. He walked towards her closing he gap. Trying not to gaze down at the girl's half-naked body. "Do you really want that old git."

Tessa stared down at the vial in his hand and started stepping backwards away from him.

"I don't wanna drink that," shouted Tessa. Shaking her head vigorously. She looked around George to see the broom closet door still open. She ran at him full speed ramming into his chest, but George caught her and pushed her back.

"You have to," grumbled George annoyed. He watched Tessa take a few steps back and he walked towards her quickly reaching for her shoulder.

"FUCK!"

George fell to the floor holding his groin moaning. Tessa leaped over George his body and landed next to his shoulder. George grabbed her foot with his free hand before as she began running. She fell with a hard thud as George crawled on top of her resting each leg by her waist and pinning her legs from kneeing him, in the groin again, with his feet.

"No," spat Tessa. Trying to push George away with her arms.

George placed the vial between his teeth and grabbed both of Tessa's flailing arms pinning them to her chest. He wrapped one hand around both of her wrists, and yanking the vial from his mouth with his other hand. He pulled the cork off with his teeth and spat it across the room pouring a few drops onto Tessa's tightly shut lips.

"Drink," growled George. She shook her head trying to get the liquid away from her mouth, until, George grabbed both of her cheeks with his hand lightly squeezing, forcing the liquid to enter between her teeth. Tessa sputtered and coughed horrendously.

"Merlin," groaned Tessa relaxing into George's grip.

"Tess," said George holding her face with both hands.

Tessa groaned in frustration tears welling in her eyes. George sighed hugging her tightly.

"I'm sorry," sputtered Tessa sobbing into George's shoulder

"It's okay," sighed George lifting Tessa up into a sitting position.

"I," sputtered Tessa. "I'm so embarrassed. I-"

"-It's okay," interjected George. "It's not your fault. Okay."

He pulled away from her and sat beside her letting her curl up into his lap. He held her torso and legs hugging her tightly letting her cry into his tear stained sweater.


	28. A Faithful Request

"So who'll be staying and going" sighed Lee.

"All four of us are going," laughed Tessa. "Don't let that prude ruin our time together."

Large groups were still together, as they were leaving the Great Hall, talking amongst themselves quietly when they exited the castle.

"This is ludicrous," sighed Lee as Filch split a mass of students at the gate, and glared back at the crowd searching for more groups.

"Tessa and I will go together," stated Fred pushing her lightly forward with him.

Lee and George held back putting space between the four them as Filch glared at Fred and George as each pair walked past.

"So," said Tessa awkwardly.

"So," smiled Fred.

"I'm sorry," said Tessa quietly.

"No worries." He smiled down at Tessa whom smiled back. "It was our experiment. We could've told you and Lee what we were doing, but we didn't."

"It's your business," laughed Tessa. "We help because we want to."

"We are partners though," stated Fred.

"And friends," laughed Tessa.

"I'd like us to be more than that," said Fred quickly.

Tessa stared up at him in shock as he held his gaze on the road his cheeks turning pink.

"I would like that too," said Tessa after a moment of silence. "But it's not that easy."

Fred nodded sighing looking down at his feet.

"You weren't nice to me last year," said Tessa. "And I literally ingested a potion that made me force myself onto you."

"I know," replied Fred rubbing his eyes. "But I want-"

Fred paused shoving his hands into his pockets. Hogsmeade came into view between over hanging limbs covered in orange and red leaves as the roadside formed into a rock fence leading into town at the tree line.

"It's going to take some time," interjected Tessa after a moment of silence.

Fred blushed lightly as he looked onto the road entering the main street of the village.

"Alright," said Fred with a slight smile on his face. "I've gotta go." He shook a small bag filled and veered into the first alleyway before the crowds swarmed together.

Tessa watched him for a second before pulling out the list George gave her earlier. Tessa scoffed as she stuffed the sheet back into her pocket. And sauntered towards The Three Broomsticks.

She closed the thick door behind her snagging a couple of glares from a monochromatic group sitting at the bar. She sat next to the one at the end and the glaring eyes quickly looked away as if she no longer existed, continuing their complaints of homework and essays due on Monday.

"Haven't seen you in a while," said the boy next to her. "Still doing their bidding."

"And good morning to you too, Gregor," replied Tessa and the barmaid placed a shot of fire whiskey in front of her. "A little too early for students to be drinking don't you think."

"Thanks, love," sighed Gregor to the barmaid; ignoring Tessa's comment as he placed coins on the table. "You even of age yet?"

"We're in the same year," smirked Tessa.

"Then why haven't you downed it yet," said Gregor glaring at the glass still at the table.

Tessa rolled her eyes lifted the Fire whiskey to her lips and downing it in one gulp turning to face Gregor now pleased.

"Now that we are all on the same level," stated Gregor turning towards her. "What is it you want?"

Tessa pulled out her list from her pocket and placed it on the table. Gregor snatched the note and scanned the contents.

"You're fucking joking," laughed Gregor crumpling the sheet and placing it on the table.

"I'm not," sighed Tessa. "Which is why I came to you." She straightened in her seat as Gregor slowly glanced back up at her.

"Go on," replied Gregor with a smirk.

"You know I only come to you for restricted materials," stated Tessa.

"Well the old bat's got eyes now," said Gregor smugly.

"What do you mean?" Asked Tessa.

"Don't play dumb," smirked Gregor. "It's bound to happen when the ministry steps in. Everyone is being watched, including us. I cant trust people in my own Common Room." Gregor glared at Tessa. "Let alone you."

Tessa gulped as she felt tension emanate between she and him.

"Luckily," said Gregor quietly. "You have helped me." He grabbed the paper ball and rolled it between his fingers.

Tessa held her breathe for a second as he flattened the wrinkled the paper onto the table and scanned Fred's chicken scratch.

"I can get some of these things to you tonight," sighed Gregor. "But the rest." He rubbed his forehead lightly shaking his head. "It'll take a while."

"How long?" Asked Tessa slightly impatient.

"I'll have it by next Hogsmeade visit," said Gregor. "I can meet with the twins tonight for the first batch."

Tessa reached out her hand and Gregor shook it tightly. She leaped off the barstool and walked towards the door leaving her money and faith behind.

"You gave him all of the money," sighed George slumping into the couch.

"I had to," spat Tessa defensively.

"You don't have to do anything," stated Fred annoyed.

"Did you even bargain with him?" Asked Lee pacing back and forth infront of the Fireplace.

"No but-"

"-NO," shouted the three in unison staring at Tessa in shock.

The Common Room was empty as the sun hid behind the horizon and the fire place crackled behind Lee.

"I couldn't," spat Tessa standing up from her seat. "He said Umbridge is watching everyone now because of our little stunt last week. Do you really think I'm able to negotiate prices with the only House that's able to get away with anything now!"

Fred and George shook their head relaxing into the couch as Lee stopped pacing and slumped to the floor his back towards the roaring fire. Tessa walked over to the Common Room entrance snatching her cat from the steps and walking back towards the group sitting back into the chair clutching a struggling Nyx in her lap.

"He wants to meet you two by the way," said Tessa quietly.

"Oh that's not weird at all," sighed Fred sarcastically.

"When has he ever wanted to meet with us?" Asked George.

"Well he does now," grumbled Tessa as Nyx leaped off her lap and began weaving through the twins legs settling between George's feet purring lightly.

"Okay," said Fred. "But I still don't trust him."

"I don't think any of us do," stated Lee.

"This time we have to," said Tessa quietly.

It was midnight by the time Gregor lumbered into the dim hallway. George leaned away from the wall as Fred stayed there glaring at the shadow moving closer towards them.

"Well," stated Gregor. "Looks like you came after all. I was honestly hoping for Tessa to be here, but unlike you two she doesn't shy away from her agreements."

"Let's get on with it," replied George quietly.

"Oh," pouted Gregor sarcastically. "Don't wanna catch up?"

George and Fred glared at him. Gregor rolled his eyes and pulled a large sack out of his coat and thrusting it towards George to grab.

George reached out and took the bag passing to Fred whom opened quickly and checked for every product.

"Don't trust me? Even with all of the errands I have to run for you two," laughed Gregor. His laugh echoed through the halls causing some sleeping paintings to grumble from their slumber.

"They're all here,' sighed Fred quickly as her turned away quietly signaling George to follow.

"Oh, so soon," sighed Gregor. "Don't wanna hear some news I have for your study group?"

Fred and George stopped in their tracks and slowly turned back towards Gregor their hands on their wands.

"No need to be armed in this transaction," sighed Gregor annoyed. "Meet me here next week same time." He turned to walk away. "Also, I wouldn't send any owls next week if I were you." He yelled over his shoulder causing the paintings to stir once more as Fred and George ran down the halls before they were spotted.


	29. The First Meeting

The class was terrifyingly quiet as Umbridge circled the room her heels clicking with each slow heavy step. She glanced over a Slytherin girl's shoulder at the back of the classroom and shook her head approvingly as she moved down the middle of the aisle slowly watching each student dip their quills into their ink and scribbling onto the parchment. She stopped at the front of Professor Flitwick's podium and swirled around to face the class, writing in her book, and shutting it loudly causing the classroom to look up. She giggled lightly and walked out of the classroom to the next victim.

"How is this even happening," laughed Lee sarcastically.

"Don't know," sighed Tessa. "I can't even write to my parents with everyone's owls being intercepted."

"Fucking reeks of foul play," mumbled George shuffling his feet on the cobbled path.

"So when are we going to the room," grumbled Lee impatiently.

"Shut up," whispered Tessa elbowing Lee lightly. She glanced around them for a second and looked back at Lee rubbing his hip in pain. "Sorry."

"It's alright," stated Lee shoving his hands into his pockets.

"We'll talk about it later okay," said Fred quietly as he eyed a group that began to loom closer behind them following the four out of the Great Hall.

Tessa veered onto the Grand staircase with George as Lee and Fred waltzed into the Library with the group hot on their heels. The door slammed shut echoing through the silent halls as Tessa and George climbed the Grand Staircase to the Common Room.

"Hogwallops," said Tessa quietly as the Fat Lady swung the door open.

"Finally empty for once," laughed George walking around the Room and leaping not the couch stretching his legs across the arm rest.

"This is the only place we know we are safe," laughed Tessa shoving his feet onto the floor and sitting beside him.

"Even that's an understatement," mumbled George annoyed.

"Doesn't matter," said Tessa quickly. "We need to talk about the meeting."

George yawned and stretched his arm over Tessa and pulled out his wand he mumbled softly and fire shot out of the tip into the fireplace as the logs roared into flames.

"Can't we just cuddle," said George quietly.

"No," laughed Tessa shoving George away from her. "We need to set up times and, and-"

"You need to chill," assured George. He pulled out a sheet of parchment and laid in Tessa's lap. "We already surveyed times, dates, rooms that are currently taken and ones that aren't."

Tessa scanned the paper and rest her head on George's shoulder. The fire crackled lightly as silence enveloped the two.

"So hows the lovely couple," mumbled George.

"There's no couple," scoffed Tessa.

George shrugged lightly causing Tessa heads to bob up and down.

"That's not what I hear," replied George.

"We may spend more time together, but-"

"-But what? you know both of your are enjoying this whole group splitting," interrupted George.

Tessa blushed lightly pushing deeper into the couch.

"It's okay," laughed George. "He'll make a move sooner or later. It's quite cute honestly. Never seen him work so hard."

Tessa laughed quietly.

"I've also never seen him snag so many treats from the kitchens than I have recently," said Tessa happily.

"Oh bollocks, Lee never gets me anything when we're together," scoffed George. "Make sure to request pumpkin pasties for next visit."

Tessa laughed as she got up from the couch and walking over to the mantel throwing the parchment into the flames.

"How hard could it be?" Asked Lee quietly staring at the tapestry. He scrunched his face and gritted his teeth as Tessa paced back and forth behind him.

Within seconds the tapestry molded into a broom closet sized door and Tessa walked passed a satisfied Lee rolling her eyes.

The Room was huge as students voices echoed off the walls and the door disappeared behind Lee once he leaped off of the step.

"There you are," sighed Harry his face pale.

"You all right?" Asked Tessa quietly.

"Harry's….well," stated Hermione slowly. She smiled sympathetically at Harry and walked around Tessa to a corner of the room where Ron twirled his wand between his fingers.

Tessa patted Harry on his back and walked over to Fred and George.

"Oh no no," laughed Fred as Tessa stood by him.

"First come first serve on partners," finished George smirking.

Tessa smirked as Lee slowly hid behind George and walked over to Hannah Abbott studying by herself. Fred, George, and Tessa burst into laughter as they leaned one one another nearly falling over.

"Te-Tessa?"

Fred and George fell to the ground as Tessa turned away from them wiping her eyes.

"Yeah Neville," laughed Tessa heartily.

"Would you like to be my partner?"

Tessa smiled lightly and nodded as she followed Neville to a corner of the room by the large fireplace.

"Sorry if it gets too hot," sighed Neville nervously. "It's the only place I could find with enough space."

"It's fine," laughed Tessa. "I'll manage."

Fred glared at the corner of his eye watching Neville's wand fly from his hand the third time in two minutes. He rolled his eyes and jumped when his wand flew out of his own hand.

"Finally," shouted George triumphantly.

"Took you long enough," joked Fred as he picked up his wand from the carpeted floor.

"Could you do any better?"

Fred straightened his shoulders a little and glanced at Tessa helping Neville guide his his arm to the motion of the spell. His checks burned red and glanced at his brother.

"By the looks of it id say you're-"

With a pop George's wand flew out of his hand and flew across the room.

"Looks like I'm beating you," smirked Fred.

George rolled his eyes and nodded over towards Tessa picking up her wand near the fireplace. Fred stared at Tessa long enough to get a smack in the head from Ron's wand flying out of his hands. Fred whirled around and glared at Ron sheepishly reaching for his wand and looked up at Hermione. Her arms crossed, hip cocked, left foot tapping lightly. Fred winked and turned back around for round two.

"Alright," sighed Harry clapping hid hands together. "Hermione will call for the next meeting but until then can we have pairs of groups slowly leave with time between each group."

Alicia and Angelina left fist as murmurs between groups grew into banter. Harry stood next to the fireplace stiffly with Ron patting him on the back in assurance. Neville smiled at Tessa and waved Tessa waved back as she watched him leave with Ginny.

"Wanna go last?"

Tessa looked up at Fred and nodded as the third pair left.

"Is there a reason?" Asked Tessa.

"No reason," smirked Fred as he watched Tessa shift from side to side. "I like it when you get antsy."

Tessa whirled around looking back up at him with shock.

"I'm sorry," sputtered Fred his face growing red. "That was wrong-"

"-Me too," interrupted Tessa with a smirk her face switched from shock to satisfaction.

"What?" Asked Fred shifting his weight.

"I like it when you get antsy," stated Tessa glancing at Fred up and down.

Fred relaxed lightly still as four pairs were left in the room.

"We're going next love birds," stated George as he walked past with Lee smirking in tow.

Fred glanced at Tessa whom smiled and nodded lightly as she watched the two leave. Fred felt something warm grazing his wrist and chills went up his arm as Tessa's fingers slowly grazed up his arm and back down. He leaned into Tessa as the last group left and put his chin on her head closing his eyes. The door shut and he felt Tessa sneak her arm around his waist pulling him closer. He closed his eyes and bent down to feel the solid weight leave. He looked up to see Tessa half way to the door smirking as he quickly followed behind her.

She ran out the door and laughed as Fred grabbed by the waist pulling close to him their laughter echoing in the halls.

"Quiet," laughed Tessa as Fred waddled behind her trying to pick her up by her waist.

His breath on her ear caused her to shiver as she pulled both her arms out of his grasp. He latched a firm grip onto her forearm causing her to nearly trip over.

"Hang on."

Fred froze as the hallway grew eerily quiet. Tessa blushed lightly as she looked down at Fred's arms pulling her closer into him. She looked down the empty hall as silence hovered over them. For a moment it seemed as though they were alone until a small tap of something drop and a rustling of robes kicked Fred into gear.

In flash, Tessa felt her body fling back around down the hall that no longer had a room to hide in. She sprinted down the hall as she heard screeching of footsteps rounding a corner. Tessa turned to the right down a dark hallway with a small staircase looming at the end. Tessa ran passed a door and felt Fred snag her sweater shoving her into the a broom closet closing the door quietly and locking it behind him. He shifted his weight pushing Tessa against the wall and turned to face her.

"Fred-"

Fred covered Tessa's mouth as multiple foot steps bounded down the hallway and past the broom closet. Fred turned his head to the side to listen. Tessa melted into his touch as she stared at the sweat beading down his temple towards his jawline. He looked down at Tessa's leg waved with his pushing them both in to the inner door. He blushed and released his hand from her mouth putting it next to her head on the stony wall.

"That was amazing," huffed Tessa staring at Fred jawline and back up to his eyes. "How'd you know."

They were both breathing heavily now as Fred wiped the bead of sweat running down his chin pushing his torso deeper into hers.

"I don't know I-"

Fred grew quiet as he watched Tessa stare down at his lips and back up to his eyes. With her free hand Tessa pulled Fred's face closer and kissed him hard on the lips as Fred pushed her body deeper into the cupboard so she could feel the carvings of the wood deep into her back and weave his hand around her knee and wrapping her leg around his waist.


End file.
